It is now exactly 20 years since PM Arik Sharon told of his plan to leave "Gush Katif, to uproot the 21 Israeli settlements there and to give full control of Gaza to the Palestinian Authority. Here is a video that tells this story of that disaster.
This video and text below was made several years ago, before we knew the extent of this disaster.
In June 2004, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon announced plans to unilaterally disengage from Gaza. Gaza was territory that Israel had won during the Six Day War in 1967. Israel had hoped that withdrawing from Gaza would be an important step toward peace with the Palestinians.
In 2005, Israel left Gaza, uprooting 1,700 families and 21 Jewish communities. Schools and synagogues were closed, and graves and military bases relocated. Greenhouses and other structures from previously Israeli communities were left behind for Palestinians’ use and benefit.
Yet upon Israel’s withdrawal, Palestinians instead entered these previously Israeli-owned buildings and destroyed them, along with several synagogues.
Following Israel’s withdrawal, the Palestinian Authority failed to transition smoothly into full control of Gaza. This leadership vacuum led to the terrorist group Hamas’s rise to power. To this day, Hamas diverts humanitarian resources away from the people in Gaza to buy weapons and dig tunnels for their war against Israel.
Since 2005, more than 15,000 rockets have been fired into Israel by Gaza based terrorist groups.