Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday raised his grievances over Israel’s 2005 exit from the Gaza Strip at a Knesset memorial service to mark two years since the passing of Ariel Sharon.
In 2005, Sharon was prime minister and the mastermind behind the unilateral evacuation of Jewish settlements in the coastal enclave and handing the area over to Palestinian rule.
At the ceremony, which was attended by President Reuven Rivlin and Sharon’s sons Amir and Gilad, Netanyahu recalled the late prime minister’s lasting contributions to the development of the Israel Defense Forces and the settlement movement as well as his influence on Israeli politics, but criticized the Gaza pullout as failing to bring peace.
“To my regret, transferring responsibility for rule to the Palestinians not only didn’t set us on the path to peace, it increased the arming of terror groups,” Netanyahu said. (READ MORE)
