NETANYAHU: 1, BOSTON GLOBE: 0

Our Hopeful Step, Your Foolishly Unilateral Withdrawal (WSJ-BOTW)
Yesterday we noted [ED. SEE MY POST HERE] that the Boston Globe was blaming Israel--and in particular "Ariel Sharon's foolishly unilateral withdrawal" from Gaza in 2005--for Hamas's violent takeover of Gaza. Blogger Harry Forbes notes that in 2005, the Globe sang quite a different tune:

To argue, as Benjamin Netanyahu did in resigning from the Cabinet, that disengagement from Gaza would create "a giant base for terrorism" is to argue that there should never be a two-state solution to the conflict. Denying Palestinians a homeland has been counterproductive for both peoples. Denying them even the hope of a homeland would be a road map to war everlasting.

Another protest frequently voiced by the Israeli right is that the withdrawal, scheduled to begin on Wednesday, only rewards Palestinian militants for the second intifadah--five years of attacks and other violent resistance to Israeli control. But this stance is backward-looking and self-defeating. . . .

Begun as a unilateral move announced by Israel's Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, the step has since attracted a level of coordination that is encouraging on its own terms. . . . The settlements have often been called facts on the ground. The withdrawal from
Gaza, if successful, will be another important fact.

Well, at least the Globe wasn't wrong about everything. There is no denying that the withdrawal from Gaza is an important fact.