 |
 |
 |
|
|
An Israeli girl wears an orange ribbon over her mouth as a symbolic gag in the color of the anti-disengagment movement, at a protest in Jerusalem's Russian Compound on Sunday. (AP)
|
|
|
|
|
|
| By Israel Insider staff and partners July 3, 2005 |
|
| |
At least eight settler families moved out of settlements in Judea-Samaria and the Gaza Strip since Thursday, including one on Sunday, in the largest wave of voluntary departures so far, ahead of the government's plan to tear down 25 settlements beginning in August.
If growing numbers of families leave their homes voluntarily before the government's Aug. 15 deadline, withdrawal opponents could be weakened considerably.
The families that have moved include two from Gaza and six from Judea-Samaria, residents and settlement officials said. The departures coincided with the start of summer vacation in Israeli schools at the end of June.
The six-member Gross family of the Elei Sinai settlement in northern Gaza, on the border with Israel, moved out of its home Sunday. Haim Gross said he supported the Gaza withdrawal, and was looking forward to beginning a new life with his wife and four daughters in the nearby Moshav Maslul, after spending 10 years in Elei Sinai. The Gross family was the first to leave Elei Sinai.
In Gaza's Rafiah Yam settlement, the Abovitch family left Thursday and moved to northern Israel.
In the small Judea-Samaria settlement of Ganim, at least five families have moved out since Thursday, and another five were expected to leave in coming days, said Rami Mansour, the secretary of the community. Ganim once was home to 30 families. Mansour said all but seven families are expected to be gone by the time soldiers come to remove the remaining residents by force, Mansour said.
The families that will remain are mostly opposed to the government's compensation package, not necessarily the actual withdrawal, Mansour said.
In the nearby Kadim settlement, one family moved out last week and settled in a town in northern Israel, said the settlement's spokeswoman, Debbie Drori. She said she did not know how many other families are planning to move before the forced evacuation begins. Kadim once had 25 families, but several left temporarily during more than four years of Israeli-Palestinian fighting, renting homes in Israel.
Even for those leaving voluntarily, the move is not easy.
In Elei Sinai, Molly Gross cried Sunday when she bid farewell to friends and neighbors in Elei Sinai.
Haim Gross said he and his wife decided to move now because they didn't want to expose their daughters to a forced evacuation, expected to be accompanied by clashes between settlers and soldiers.
Even now, Gross' three youngest daughters, ages 6, 10 and 11, spent the weekend with their grandparents so they wouldn't have to watch the move. They also got a horse as a gift, so they would have something to look forward to in their new community which has a horse ranch, Gross said.
"We have mixed feelings. We are parting and moving away from our very good friends... but on the other hand we are building a new life for ourselves and are hoping for a good future," Gross said.
"Israel has to leave there (Gaza) With all the difficulty and problems... we have to do it because we have no business being there (in Gaza)," Gross said. "We have to part from the Palestinians once and for all. They will live their lives and we will live ours."
The AP contributed to this report.
|
|
 
|
|
|
|
Click on the blue headline to read a Talkback comment and respond to it. Click on the  icon to send a private email to the talkback writer. The icon appears only if the writer has decided to be contacted. If no popup window appears, please make sure your popup blocker allows israelinsider.com.
|
|
| |
|
|
