Sharon’s initiative also reflected a continuation of his use of the pretext of security to unilaterally consolidate Israel’s grip on the territories while avoiding any form of political engagement with the Palestinians.10 This goal was explicitly articulated by Sharon’s top aide, Dov Weisglass, in an interview several months later. “The disengagement is actually formaldehyde,” Weisglass told the Israeli newspaper Haaretz. “It supplies the amount of formaldehyde that is necessary so that there will not be a political process with the Palestinians.”
