That doesn’t matter so much now. After this summer’s conflicts–during which militants tunneled from Gaza to Israel to capture and kill Israeli soldiers–the idea has gained new currency. Nervous Israelis are eager to put distance between themselves and their enemies. “I don’t believe in coexistence,” hard-liner Avigdor Lieberman, who just agreed to join Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s coalition, told NEWSWEEK recently. Neither do a growing number of his countrymen; polls show strong support for his hawkish views. Even Foghel says he’s convinced the moat is “a good solution,” adding that Gaza residents might grow to like relaxing by their new moat, and even fishing in it. “It will be something nice to look at,” he says.
