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An Israeli soldier walks in the Jewish settlement of Ganim, near the Palestinian town of Jenin. Don't fight the soldiers! That's the message of settler leaders' recently-drafted code of conduct. (AP)
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| By israelinsider staff and partners July 4, 2005 |
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Settler leaders on Monday gathered in Gaza to draw up a code of conduct to deter followers from violence during protests against the upcoming Gaza pullout, and Israel's president warned that the increasingly charged climate could lead to political killings.
The settler initiative was launched by right-wing lawmaker Effie Eitam, who saif that last weeks' protests crossed "a red line".
Protests turned violent last week when a small group of settlers took over buildings in Gaza, clashing with security forces and Palestinians. The disengagement opponents also scattered spikes and oil on the main Jerusalem-Tel Aviv highway.
"Attempts to physically harm people, to target roads are unacceptable," Eitam told Israel Radio. "They are forbidden both by the law and by Jewish tradition, and they do not help the struggle," he said.
The charter calls for nonviolence, voluntary collection of settlers' weapons and verbal restraint against the security forces.
The code will also call on settlers to refrain from "acts of provocation or revenge against Palestinians," the Maariv daily reported.
Participants in the meeting to draft the charter also condemned the stoning. "If someone throws a stone at a conscious or unconscious person, I hope the law enforcement authorities will deal with them," Rabbi Yona Gutman told Israel Radio.
This, after Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz reiterated that the government would deal harshly with violent protests. "I have instructed the armed forces in the Gaza Strip and the northern West Bank to act against every incident of violence and every violation of the law with zero tolerance," Mofaz told an economic conference.
Israeli President Moshe Katsav warned Monday that settlers taking part in the protests could resort to drastic measures, including assassination. "They are definitely likely to try and carry out extremists acts... like killing the prime minister," Katsav told Israel Army Radio.
He noted that the atmosphere was similar to the period preceding the 1995 assassination of then-Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin by an ultranationalist Jew opposed to Rabin's land-for-peace deal with the Palestinians.
Katsav called on settler leaders, particularly rabbis, to temper their calls to oppose the withdrawal. The president said it was likely extremists would misunderstand statements by some rabbis that the pullout endangers Israel's existence. "Some misguided individuals may come and say 'I need to save the state of Israel because the rabbis say Israel is in danger'," Katsav said.
Rabin's killer, Yigal Amir, cited rabbinical rulings as his justification for shooting the prime minister.
In the meantime, on Sunday, the Shin Bet security service fitted all the Cabinet members for bullet proof vests, citing concern they might be targeted by Jewish extremists.
The AP contributed to this report.
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