According to our latest poll, more than three quarters of our visitors approve of Sharon’s decision to evacuate Jewish settlements in Gaza.

Caroline Glick does not agree, for very pragmatic reasons: Sharon’s Folly.

Opponents of the Jewish communities in Gaza often point to the large force structure deployed for their protection. “It takes an entire battalion to defend Netzarim,” is one of the most frequent statements to this effect.

A senior IDF commander pointed out to me this week that this oft-repeated statement ignores the larger picture. “Our forces in the settlements don’t just guard homes. We use the settlements as forward bases to combat terrorists. If we didn’t have the settlements, we would have to form them ourselves.”

“In Operation Defensive Shield,” he continues, “if we didn’t have the so called ideological settlement of Bracha by Nablus, it would have taken us four days to enter the city to commence operations, fighting all the way. Because we had Bracha, we were able to enter Nablus quickly and easily. The same is true of our operations in Gaza.”

The fact that Palestinian forces in Gaza have to operate in secret is a result of IDF forward deployment in and around the settlements, he explains. And the security situation in Gaza is vexing. Since the outbreak of the Palestinian terror war, 57 percent of all terror attacks have emanated from the Gaza Strip. The most popular and strongest group in the area is Hamas. Military sources have warned in recent weeks and months that Hamas is poised to take over the entire area from the PLO.

And yet, Palestinian and military sources admit that in Gaza, the distinctions between the various terror cells have long ceased to be operationally significant. Since the beginning of the war, Fatah terror cells have been openly operating with Hamas and Islamic Jihad in Gaza and PA security services have provided support structures for these cells as well as taken part in their operations. From a tactical perspective, an Israeli retreat from Gaza would provide safe havens for all these forces. Gaza would become a carbon copy of South Lebanon.