Sharon to Relocate Jewish Settlements from Gaza as Five Palestinian Activists Killed by Israeli Troops

02/02/2004| IslamWeb

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has said he is planning to evacuate 17 Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip. In an interview on Monday, Sharon told Haaretz newspaper he had already given the order to plan for the move that would affect 7500 Israeli citizens. The PM said it was his intention to "carry out an evacuation - sorry, a relocation - of settlements that cause us problems" and of "places that we will not hold onto anyway in a final settlement, like the Gaza settlements". "I am working on the assumption that in the future there will be no Jews in Gaza." **No deadlines*** But in excerpts from the interview, the PM gave no timeframe for the move. "It's not a simple matter. We are talking of thousands of square kilometres of hothouses, factories and packing plants". Sharon added he hoped to work with settlers rather than removing them by force. "The first thing is to ask their agreement, to reach an agreement with the residents... it's not a quick matter, especially if it's done under fire." Sharon has threatened to take unilateral steps to separate from the Palestinians should a US-backed peace "road map" fail. But it was the first time Sharon had revealed a plan for such a far-reaching withdrawal from territories Israel seized in the 1967 Middle East war, and sparked immediate outrage from settler leaders. **Outrage*** "I am in shock," Likud legislator Yehiel Hazan told Israeli radio in broadcast remarks. "I think that the prime minister thinks he is the leader not of the Likud but of Labour, Meretz and Shinu," Hazan said, referring to parties with a political agenda to the left of Likud. Sharon's comments also drew angry protest from settler leaders, but the reaction to Monday's announcement bordered on outrage. A spokesman for the Gaza settlers called Sharon's statement "miserable" and said Israel's nationalist camp would "make every effort... to cut short Sharon's term as prime minister through legal means". "We call on Sharon to immediately return to his old, good positions and not to bring another tragedy to the people of Israel through the expulsion of Jews from their homes." **Israeli Soldiers Kill Palestinian Activists*** Israeli soldiers have shot and killed a total of five Palestinian activists in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip. Israeli tanks backed by helicopters stormed the Gaza Strip town of Rafah early on Monday, our correspondent said. Palestinian resistance fighters threw a grenade and opened fire at troops who attempted to detain activists overnight. One soldier was lightly wounded. Palestinian medical sources said a leader of al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of Islamic Jihad, was killed. Members of al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, the armed wing of Palestinian President Yasir Arafat's Fatah movement, were also killed. Occupation soldiers razed at least one home and several businesses. **West Bank raids*** In the occupied West Bank, Israeli soldiers shot dead a Hamas activist near Bethlehem during an invasion of the area. Occupation troops surrounded the home of a wanted activist, as Palestinian fighters clashed with soldiers, reported our correspondent. Soldiers also stormed the nearby Aida refugee camp. Four Israeli soldiers were wounded. The invasions followed comments by Israeli Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz on Sunday that the heads of resistance groups were targets for assassination. Mofaz's threat came after Hamas' spiritual leader Shaikh Ahmad Yasin warned the group would try to kidnap Israeli soldiers. Yasin called for the kidnapping of Israeli soldiers a day after Lebanese resistance group Hizb Allah brokered a prisoner swap deal with Israel. A total of 400 Palestinians, 23 Lebanese and 12 Arab nationals were released in exchange for the remains of three Israeli soldiers and a suspected Mossad spy from Lebanon. Hamas officials did not immediately react to Mofaz's comments. Palestinians and the international community condemn Israel's policy of targeted killings. In September, Yasin escaped an assassination attempt in the Gaza Strip. **PHOTO CAPTION*** A Palestinian man opens his coat to show an Israeli soldier he is not carrying explosives at a new checkpoint between the West Bank village of Beit Sahur and the biblical city of Bethlehem. (AFP/Musa al-Shaer)