Israel tightens Gaza security as violence intensifies
The Israeli military today isolated the Gaza Strip, declaring it a “closed military zone” to prevent Jewish extremists from going in after a series of violent incidents.
The army said in a statement that because of the violence, “the head of the southern command … signed a closure order preventing non-residents from entering the Gaza Strip”.
Jewish extremists yesterday clashed with Israeli security forces and Palestinian civilians, severely wounding a Palestinian. Settlers and soldiers also clashed over the weekend.
“In the past day there has been another serious escalation of extremist activity,” an army statement said. “There is intelligence information that more extremist groups are moving toward the Gaza Strip with the intention of strengthening their friends and to escalate the provocative acts.”
In an interview published today, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said he ordered police to crack down on the extremists.
“This bothers me exceptionally. This is an act of savagery, vulgarity and irresponsibility,” Sharon told the Haaretz daily newspaper . “The country’s citizens must understand this danger, and every measure must be taken to end this rampaging.”
The extremists, who are opposed to Israel’s planned pull-out from Gaza and part of the West Bank, clashed with soldiers and Palestinians before being evicted from a house they commandeered on the Gaza shore yesterday.
During the violence a Palestinian youth was seriously wounded when some of the Jewish youths cornered him, throwing stones at him and beating him unconscious. The incident was caught on film and sparked widespread condemnation across Israel.
Declaring Gaza a closed military area allows the army and police to remove anyone without a resident permit, making it easier for the security forces to control the area. Officials had said they reserved the right to seal off Gaza, saying the decision to do so would depend on the level of unrest.
Public Security Minister Gideon Ezra said police were doing all they could to apprehend those behind yesterday’s violence, which he called a “lynch” attempt. “We are obligated to find those who were behind this,” he told Israel Radio.
The clash in Gaza showed that a handful of violent extremists could change the nature of Sharon’s “disengagement” plan, from unarmed soldiers dragging protesting but otherwise peaceful settlers from their homes, to violent clashes, possibly with firearms, between security forces and extremists bent on foiling the evacuation any way they can.
Disengagement, or Israel’s withdrawal from all Gaza settlements and four West Bank settlements, is set to begin in mid-August.
The clashes came as extremists also attempted to tie up traffic throughout Israel, blocking several major intersections around Israel.
Police used a water cannon to disperse protesters blocking the highway at the entrance to Jerusalem, displaying a new determination to counter the disruptions.
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