Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is considering delaying the Gaza pullout until mid-August, after the completion of a three-week Jewish mourning period that marks the destruction of the two biblical temples, Israeli officials said Monday.
The withdrawal from all Gaza Strip and four northern West Bank settlements is scheduled to begin at the end of July and last four weeks.
Yonatan Bassi, the government official responsible for compensating and relocating Jewish settlers slated for evacuation, suggested to Sharon during Sunday's Cabinet meeting that the withdrawal be delayed by three weeks, Bassi's spokesman, Haim Altman, said.
Bassi raised the issue after "an internal struggle and talking to rabbis" and explained that Jews are not allowed to move to a new home during the Tisha B'Av mourning period, Altman said.
Asaf Shariv, a top Sharon aide, said the prime minister wanted the evacuation to be over by Sept. 1 when children start school, but after Bassi's suggestion he is reconsidering.
"We will think about it. We will see what we will do," Shariv said.
During the three-week period before Tisha B'Av, observant Jews "mourn" the destruction of the two biblical Jewish temples. During this period, observant Jews don't shave, go to the beach, get a haircut, listen to music or get married and many eat only dairy. Tisha B'Av itself is a fast day.
Settler leader Pinchas Wallerstein said they told Sharon months ago that the dates he chose for the withdrawal were problematic, especially for the Gaza settlers, who are largely observant Jews.
"Maybe Tisha B'Av is appropriate. If you want to bring destruction on the nation of Israel maybe it is appropriate to do it on a date known for destruction," Wallerstein told Israel's Army Radio, adding that in the end the date of the evacuation is meaningless.
"The date doesn't matter to us. Our goal is to prevent the withdrawal," Wallerstein said.
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