Israel’s 2005 Disengagement from Gaza: a multilateral move under unilateral façade

Israel’s 38-year presence in Gaza officially ended on 12 September 2005, when the last Israeli soldier departed the Strip. This event, known as the Gaza Disengagement, involved evacuating 21 settlements and displacing 8000 settlers from their homes. Prime Minister Sharon, who initiated the Gaza Disengagement, portrayed it as a unilateral action—meaning it was carried out without the involvement of the Palestinian Authority (PA), led by Mahmoud Abbas. Consequently, the term ‘hitnatkut had-tzdadit’ (unilateral disengagement) gained popularity and became the official term used to describe the event. Based on leaked American and Palestinian documents, as well as interviews with prominent Israelis and Americans involved in the events, this article presents two arguments: first, contrary to the prevailing notion that the Gaza Disengagement was unilaterally executed by Israel, it was actually implemented with the coordination of the PA, the United States (US), the Quartet, Egypt, and Jordan. Second, the failure of the Gaza Disengagement should be attributed both to Israel’s reluctance to use it as a platform to advance the peace process, and the PA’s lack of resolve to curb Hamas’s and Islamic Jihad’s terror acts.