Israel Matzav: Livni: 'No regrets' for expelling Jews from Gaza

Livni: 'No regrets' for expelling Jews from Gaza

Leading her party on a tour of Jewish refugee camps in southern Israel on Sunday, opposition leader Tzipi Livni said she had 'no regrets' regarding the expulsion of Israel's Jews from Gaza.

Asked if the Disengagement was a mistake, she answered: “Absolutely not. The State of Israel needs to decide, and we are not yet past this decision process... Even among those who say that this was a mistake, there is no one who says that we should now return to settle Gaza and return full Israeli control of Gaza.” She added that in her opinion, the Jews living in Gaza would have eventually been evicted anyways, even if the Disengagement had not taken place.

“It is the duty of Israeli governments, no matter what the [political makeup], to enable each of these families, to the extent possible, to bring matters back to the way they were in a different place," she added. "It is very complicated; it is not simple.”

I suspect a lot of people in Sderot and Ashkelon and all along the 'Gaza envelope' would disagree with her assessment. Unfortunately, undoing the 2005 Gaza expulsion is impossible right now unless Israel is willing to go in and wipe out Hamas (and even then it's not clear that Gaza can once again be made safe for Jewish habitation).

But leaving Gaza, expelling all its Jews and destroying the vibrant communities there was a terrible mistake. Allowing Gaza to become a Hamas caliphate and a launching pad for rocket attacks on Israel (which may have been preventable had Israel at least maintained control of the Philadelphi corridor) was an even worse mistake.

Unless and until Livni can understand and acknowledge that, she will never again hold any office in Israel outside her own party.

Good riddance!

Israel Matzav: Livni: 'No regrets' for expelling Jews from Gaza