Director Center’s European Affairs Global Research for International Affairs Center (GLO-

The decision by the government of Israel to with-draw unilaterally from the Gaza Strip and its 17 Jewish settlements, and from four West Bank settlements in the autumn of 2005 represented a moment of his-toric importance in the ongoing conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. Both conceptually and prac-tically, it was a major departure from Israeli policy since 1967. Disengagement has re-shaped Israeli politics, setting in motion processes which have ended the generation-long domination of the Israeli politi-cal scene by the Likud Party. Indeed, the emergence of a new Israeli strategy based on unilateralism has re-shaped the basic parameters of the Israeli dis-cussion, which since 1967 had been divided bet-ween supporters and opponents of the idea of land for peace. This article will discuss the emergence of the idea of unilateral disengagement, its adoption as policy by the government of Ariel Sharon, the imple-mentation of the Gaza disengagement and events since the implementation