2005 in Israel

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's disengagement initiative had its origins in his assessment that there was no reliable Palestinian partner for a negotiated two-sided peace process and that a unilateral move could improve Israel's security, political, economic, and demographic position.[1] The plan called for removing all Israeli settlements and military installations from the Gaza Strip and four settlements and military installations in northern Samaria.[1] The Quartet endorsed the initiative in May 2004, and the Israeli cabinet approved a disengagement resolution in June 2004.[2]

The Knesset approved the plan in October 2004 by a vote of 67 to 45.[3] On February 16, 2005, it approved the implementation law by 59 to 40, with five abstentions.[3] The law authorized approximately $870 million in compensation for about 9,000 settlers from Gaza and northern Samaria.[4] On June 9, the Supreme Court gave legal backing to the plan and compensation law, dismissing twelve appeals with ten justices in favor and one opposed.[3] On July 20, the Knesset rejected a proposal to postpone disengagement by 68 votes to 43.[3]

In January 2005, Sharon formed a unity government with Likud, Labor, and United Torah Judaism specifically to implement the withdrawal.[5] On February 8, Sharon and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas met at a summit in Sharm el-Sheikh alongside Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Jordan's King Abdullah II, where both leaders declared an end to violence.[5] Israel announced the release of approximately 900 Palestinian prisoners and a withdrawal from Palestinian cities in the West Bank, while Jordan and Egypt agreed to return their ambassadors to Israel.[5] Preparations also included the appointment of Lieutenant General William Ward as U.S. Security Coordinator and former World Bank president James D. Wolfensohn as Special Envoy for Gaza Disengagement.[2]

The disengagement generated a major domestic political and social conflict, provoking debate over Israel's borders, the meaning of the Land of Israel, national identity, and the country's future.[3] A January 2005 survey found that 46.5 percent of respondents believed there was a high or quite high danger of civil war if the plan were implemented.[3] By late June, 50.7 percent of Jewish respondents saw a real danger of political assassination of disengagement supporters, while 72.8 percent saw a real danger of violence and bloodshed in the evacuation areas.[3]

Public support for the plan, while consistently at majority levels, eroded as implementation approached. A February Dahaf Institute survey found 66 percent support; a May survey showed 60 percent; by late May, 57.5 percent of Jewish respondents supported the plan and 35.3 percent opposed it; and by June, support among the Jewish population had fallen to 54 percent with opposition at 41 percent.[3] Notably, 56 percent of supporters and 64 percent of opponents believed the government and relevant institutions were not adequately prepared for implementation.[3]

Implementation began on August 15, 2005, when remaining settlers received a final 48-hour notice to leave.[6] By that date, approximately two-thirds of the settlers had already departed voluntarily.[4] Approximately 55,000 Israeli soldiers and police were mobilized for the operation, including a contingent of 14,000 unarmed soldiers and police who began removing individual settler households on August 17.[6]

Resistance was generally nonviolent. Many settlers left voluntarily, there were few violent incidents, and no Israeli fired a weapon against another Israeli.[6] At Kfar Darom, soldiers broke through a synagogue barricade and removed about 200 people amid protest.[4] On August 22, residents of Netzarim — the last Israeli settlement in Gaza — agreed to leave after a final prayer service.[4] The Gaza evacuation was completed on August 22, and the four northern Samaria communities — Ganim, Kadim, Homesh, and Sa-Nur — were evacuated by August 23.[6][1]

Two violent episodes during the lead-up period drew international attention. On August 4, an Israeli army deserter killed four Israeli Arabs and injured 13 people on a bus in northern Israel; on August 17, a West Bank settler shot four Palestinians at Shiloh. Prime Minister Sharon publicly labeled both incidents "Jewish terrorism."[6]

After settlement homes were demolished, Israeli forces completed their withdrawal from Gaza on September 12, 2005, and the Israeli cabinet formally cancelled the military government in Gaza.[6][7] Brigadier General Aviv Kochavi, identified as the last Israeli soldier to leave, stated: "From now on, the Palestinian Authority bears responsibility for what happens in the Gaza Strip."[7] Palestinian Authority forces then entered the areas cleared by Israel.[7] Before the withdrawal concluded, Israel and Egypt signed an agreement permitting Egyptian border police to secure the Gaza-Egypt border along the Philadelphi Route.[6]

Although described as unilateral, the disengagement involved coordination with the Palestinian Authority, Egypt, and international actors on practical matters including settlement demolition and debris removal, security coordination, border crossings, commercial assets, and the transfer of agricultural greenhouses.[6] Egypt deployed 750 border police to secure the Gaza-Egypt border, and joint Israeli-Palestinian operations centers were established at Erez and Rafah.[6]

The disengagement involved the evacuation of 21 Jewish communities in Gaza and four communities in northern Samaria, totaling close to 9,000 people.[1] The Gaza communities were Neve Dekalim, Netzer Hazani, Pe'at Sadeh, Katif, Rafiah Yam, Shirat HaYam, Slav, Tel Katifa, Bedolah, Gadid, Gan Or, Ganei Tal, Kfar Yam, Bnei Atzmon, Kerem Atzmona, Morag, Kfar Darom, Netzarim, Elei Sinai, Dugit, and Nisanit.[1] The four northern Samaria communities were Ganim, Kadim, Homesh, and Sa-Nur.[1]

The estimated total cost of the disengagement from Gaza and the northern Samaria communities was approximately 11 billion new Israeli shekels, with a separate figure of approximately $2.2 billion reported for compensation, Defense and Security Ministry expenses, and related development plans for the Nitzanim area, the Negev, and the Galilee.[1][6] Israel also sought approximately $2.25 billion in special U.S. assistance, though that request was postponed.[6] A state investigative commission found that many evacuees subsequently remained in temporary housing, most permanent housing construction had not begun, the evacuees' unemployment rate was double that of the general population, and some required welfare assistance.[1]

Palestinian terrorism against Israeli targets declined substantially in 2005 compared with 2004, though it remained at a high level. The Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center counted 2,365 attacks in 2005, compared with 3,871 in 2004, a decrease of nearly 40 percent.[8] Of those attacks, 1,566 originated in or from the Gaza Strip, 592 occurred in the West Bank, and 207 occurred inside Israel.[8] Small-arms attacks accounted for approximately 47 percent of all attacks, while Qassam rocket and mortar fire represented approximately 42 percent.[8]

Fifty-four Israelis were killed and 484 injured in Palestinian terrorism during the year, including 44 civilians and 10 members of the security forces.[8] Seven suicide bombings were carried out, killing 23 people and injuring approximately 160; fifteen additional suicide bombings were thwarted by Israeli security forces.[8] Qassam rocket and mortar fire produced 1,059 registered hits, with a peak of 221 in July; the actual total was higher because some unregistered launches were not counted.[8]

The second intifada ebbed during late 2005, a decline attributed to Israeli defensive measures, construction of the separation fence, and Palestinian recognition that continuing the intifada served little purpose.[1] During the disengagement evacuation itself, Palestinian terrorist violence was lower than Israeli officials had feared, with the IDF chief of staff reporting below-average shooting and mortar incidents and no Israeli casualties.[6]

Israel's economy performed strongly during 2005. Preliminary Central Bureau of Statistics data released in January 2006 reported GDP growth of 5.2 percent.[2] GDP per capita was estimated at $17,800; exports of goods and services grew by 7 percent; tourism revenues rose by 22.7 percent; and private consumption increased by 4 percent.[2] Israel's population stood at an estimated 6.35 million, growing at an annual rate of 1.2 percent, with a composition estimated at 76.2 percent Jewish, 19.5 percent Arab, and 4.3 percent other.[2]

The disengagement fractured Israeli party politics, particularly within Likud. Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu resigned from the government in August 2005 to protest the withdrawal and subsequently declared his candidacy for Likud party chairman.[9] Netanyahu challenged Sharon's leadership and accused him of abandoning Likud's core values by withdrawing from territory.[5]

On November 21, Sharon resigned as Likud leader, dissolved parliament, and formed the new centrist party Kadima ("Forward"), intending to contest elections scheduled for March 28, 2006.[5][9] Netanyahu won the Likud leadership primary on December 19 and was named Sharon's successor as party leader on December 20.[9][5]

In November 2005, the United States brokered an Agreement on Movement and Access intended to facilitate Palestinian economic development following the withdrawal.[2] Negotiations led by Special Envoy Wolfensohn addressed the Karni and Erez crossings, settler home demolition, water and electricity infrastructure, communications, and other matters affecting the Palestinian economy.[2] Questions about Gaza's permanent connections to the outside world — including possible Israeli surveillance of Rafah, a future seaport and airport, and a Gaza-West Bank transportation link — remained unresolved at year's end.[6]

Gaza's longer-term trajectory proved troubling. The Gaza Strip subsequently became a major security, political, economic, and humanitarian burden, as rocket fire, weapons smuggling, underground military infrastructure, and terrorist activity developed after the withdrawal.[1]

Sources give slightly varying evacuee totals and date the overall disengagement operation differently.[1][10] CRS distinguishes the August 15 notice, August 17 enforcement, August 22–23 completion of the civilian evacuation, and September 12 military withdrawal, showing that many of the date variations refer to different stages of the process.[6]

The most consequential unresolved question concerned Gaza's legal status after the withdrawal. Israel stated that following the evacuation "there will be no basis for claiming that the Gaza Strip is occupied territory" and reserved a right of self-defense, including preventive and reactive military action.[11] A United Nations fact-finding mission reached the opposite conclusion, finding that Israel retained effective control over Gaza through its management of borders, coastline, airspace, movement of people and goods, population registry, taxes, customs, and military access, and therefore determined that Gaza remained occupied.[11] The political and diplomatic question of whether the disengagement would advance or freeze the broader peace process, and whether further West Bank withdrawals would follow, also remained contested at year's end.[6][2]