 |
 |
 |
|
|
Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz stands behind Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. (AP)
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
06/06
Haaretz |
|
|
| By israelinsider staff and partners June 6, 2005 |
|
| |
Mofaz was joined by newly-appointed Chief of Staff Dan Halutz and Southern Command Chief Dan Harel. The three visited the Philadelphi route along the Israel-Egypt border, where Mofaz supervized construction for infrastructure development in the area.
Mofaz said there are several Palestinian groups not committed to the intra-Palestinian truce, such as Islamic Jihad. He said Tuesday's Qassam and mortar shell firing indicates disregard for the agreed-upon calm.
"Hamas and other factors are trying to operate against the disengagement. Opposite this, the Palestinians are not active enough," he said. "We are operating within a restrained reality, while evaluating the situation. But with this kind of restraint, patience does not last forever."
Mofaz said at present he does not recognize "one authority, one law, one weapon," as promised by the Palestinians.
Mofaz also discussed the letter National Security Advisor Giora Eiland sent to senior government officials, in which he painted a forlorn picture of the government's preparations for carrying out the Gaza pullout plan.
"I can say that great efforts are being made by the government to provide answers for the settlers," Mofaz said. "Not everyone is fully prepared to talk and find a solution, but significant efforts are being made to advance the issue."
During the tour Harel discussed the process of collecting weaponry from the settlers in preapartion for the planned pullout of the Gaza Strip and parts of the West Bank in the summer.
"We plan to level infrastructures, however defense-related infrastructures will remain intact until after we evacuate the civilians," he said, adding that "weapons will remain with the citizens and we will collect them prior to pullout, close to the actual date of evacuation."
Earlier this week, Mofaz warned the settlers that those who refuse to give up their weapons will have them taken by force. This initiative is to ensure there will be no armed settlers during the evacuation.
Mofaz's remarks touched specifically on the weapons that the Israel Defense Forces provided the settlers for self-defense, namely to security officers of the local authorities, security coordinators of settlements and members of on-call forces in the settlements.
In mid-April, after a meeting with senior officers, Mofaz ordered the army to begin collecting weapons from settlers ahead of the evacuation. Mofaz told IDF officers that the collection was to be coordinated with settler leaders. The directive was postponed soon after due to fears that collecting weapons at that point would create a crisis of confidence in the army among the settlers.
In his appearance before the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, the defense minister said the IDF will collect weapons from the settlers only immediately before the evacuation planned for August 15. This way settlers will be able to defend themselves until their evacuation. He added that the IDF general staff will be responsible for this task.
Mofaz was asked about the level of the IDF's preparedness to deal with settlers refusing to give up their weapons. He answered that "because the weapon is the army's property, it will be taken forcefully from anyone refusing to hand it over."
Mofaz also said he would urge settlers to evacuate their children before the withdrawal to spare them traumatic sights. "I urge them not to allow their children to be involved in any aspect of the evacuation," he said after the meeting of parliament's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.
MK Uri Ariel's (National Union) request that female settlers be evacuated only by female soldiers was rejected by Mofaz. Ariel said that the IDF must endeavor to avoid hurting the feelings of these women, as this issue is likely to inflame the situation in the field.
Asked whether the pullout, scheduled to begin in mid-August, would take place under fire, Mofaz replied: "It has been decided that the disengagement will not take place under fire. We will do everything possible to coordinate the disengagement with the Palestinians."
Israel and the Palestinians have pledged to cooperate during the withdrawal, but taken few concrete steps to do so. Palestinian officials said the two sides planned to meet Monday evening to discuss coordination.
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.
|
|
| |
|
|
