After years of silence, Gilad Sharon, a son of former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon recently broke that silence to grant a phone interview to the New York Times. Gilad used the forum wisely, announcing the release of his book, a biography on his father.

He explains it was he who gave his father the idea to unilaterally leave Gaza, an area which he perceived as “indefensible”, an area that carried too high a price for Israel to maintain control over.

He details what caused the final break between his father and his arch political rival, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, explaining this occurred during the prime minister’s first term back in 1997. Netanyahu promised to appoint Sharon as finance minister, summoning him for a meeting. “My father got up and abruptly end the meeting, the shortest in the history of the Prime Minister’s Office, stating ‘you lied to me’” Gilad reports.

He adds that when his father announced his plan to leave Gaza, Netanyahu, then finance minister, was hesitant, calling for a national referendum, met by refusal from the elder Sharon. Gilad explains that ultimately, Netanyahu voted in favor or the disengagement.

The Prime Minister’s Office released a statement denying the accuracy of much of the content of the NY Times interview with Gilad Sharon, accusing the latter of using the book to advance his career within the Kadima party. The statements attributed to Ariel Sharon as if they were uttered to Netanyahu simply never took place the PM’s Office statement adds.

The statement adds that Netanyahu resigned from the government over his objections to the plan, a plan which he warned would result in more missiles striking Israel, adding history has proven him correct, hence his election as prime minister.

YWN-Israel: Mr. Netanyahu did resign from the government, but only after voting in favor of the disengagement. Hence, his move was symbolic, but did nothing to stop the uprooting of the Jews of N. Shomron and Gaza. The remainder is history.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)