As Israel’s withdrawal from the Gaza Strip nears completion, a moment of truth has arrived for the Palestinian people. Now that Israel is relinquishing its control over the Gaza Strip, the Palestinians will face a test of their readiness for the responsibilities of independent statehood. For the first time in 38 years, Gazans will no longer have the excuse of Israeli oppression and occupation to blame for their plight; now, only the Palestinian Authority can be held accountable.The challenges — particularly the security challenges — that lie ahead are significant, but meeting these challenges is essential because the stakes are high: If the Palestinians cannot handle the responsibilities that arise in Gaza, they will lose an opportunity to prove to the world that they are ready for statehood.Many have predicted that chaos will quickly follow Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza, but there is no reason to assume that the Palestinians will be unable to meet the security challenges that lie ahead. In fact, the predictions of chaos are reminiscent of similar warnings made ahead of Israel’s withdrawal from South Lebanon in 2000. Many observers warned then that if Israel carried out its withdrawal from its southern neighbor’s territory, Hizbullah guerrillas would be emboldened and would pursue their attacks across the border. Others warned that in a security vacuum, there would be widespread sectarian hostility or bloodshed as Hizbullah militants moved into the South, where many Christian villages are concentrated. But contrary to these doomsday predictions, Hizbullah forces maintained discipline and calm, even amid the confusion of the Israeli withdrawal. Hizbullah militants showed remarkable self-restraint during the pullout and the group’s leaders even toured the South to reassure Christian villagers and preach a message of Lebanese unity.Resistance groups in Gaza would be wise to emulate Hizbullah’s example. Abbas is right to point out that if militants engage in violence now, they will only be undermining the Palestinian national cause. As the world’s eyes are trained on Gaza in the wake of Israel’s withdrawal, this is a historic chance for Palestinian Authority and the Palestinian people to show that they are capable of restraint, calm, justice and leadership.Excerpted from an editorial in Lebanon’s ‘The Daily Star’, August 22
