Exchanging Territories for Peace: A Macrosociological Approach

Abstract

The Israeli public experienced much confusion during the removal of Israeli settlements from the Sinai Peninsula. The author discusses this confusion and its sources: problems and contradictions related to the society's concept of peace and its value, and the conflict between Israel's desires for peace and recognition versus fears of reversing the settlement process and of losing Israel's identity through integration with the Arab states. The evacuation proceeded as scheduled and without civil war, according to the author, because Egypt's offer was highly desirable, because those opposing withdrawal were not as powerful as the government and military and were unable to attract a broad cross-section of the public, and because the government made a firm decision to negotiate with Egypt and offer territory for peace.