Gaza pullout 'painful step'
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said in a televised speech today that the Gaza pullout is a painful step, both for the nation and for himself, but that it is essential for Israel’s future.
A grim-looking Sharon said it is now up to the Palestinians to clamp down on militants and stop violence. “To an outstretched hand we will respond with an olive branch,” he said.
For most of his political career, Sharon had led Jewish settlement expansion in the West Bank and Gaza. As recently as two years ago, he said Israel would not give up even small, isolated Gaza settlements.
“But the changing reality in the nation, region and world made me change my mind and change my position,” Sharon said today. “We cannot hold Gaza for good. More that a million Palestinians live there, doubling their numbers every generation.”
On what was the first day of Israel's Gaza pullout, thousands of Israeli troops handed out eviction notices to sobbing settlers and helped some pack, but also clashed with crowds of protesters who barricade themselves in their communities, and locked arms in a final show of resistance.
Army commanders took pains to avoid clashes and refrained from forcing their way into settlements where opposition was heavy – a display of sensitivity before unleashing the military’s muscle to be used against those holding out starting on Wednesday.
Palestinians celebrated the beginning of the end of the 38-year occupation of Gaza, and militant factions competed for credit for expelling the Israelis through their violent five-year uprising.
Over the next three weeks, Israel plans to remove all 21 Jewish settlements from Gaza and four from the West Bank.
The withdrawal – which is shaking up peace prospects in unpredictable ways - marks the first time Israel will dismantle settlements in areas captured in the 1967 Mideast War and claimed by the Palestinians for their future state.
Today was the first day of a 48-hour grace period during which settlers can leave voluntarily without losing any of their government compensation.
It became illegal for Israelis to live in Gaza at midnight on Sunday, and on Wednesday troops will begin dragging out settlers by force.
Sharon has said he decided to evacuate the settlements and their 9,000 residents because their defence was untenable in an overcrowded area of 1.3 million Palestinians, and the presence of so many Arabs under Israeli control was threatening the Jewish character of the state.
But many Orthodox Jews believe Gaza is part of the biblical land promised to the Jews.
Sharon has repeatedly said the withdrawal is designed to allow Israel to hold on to Jerusalem and major parts of the West Bank – also territory the Palestinians want for a state. Such statements have cast doubt on whether the withdrawal can lead to new peacemaking.
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas said he was filled with hope, but that Israel must hand over more land.
Palestinian officials announced that Abbas has set January 21 as the date for long-delayed legislative elections. The timing of the statement appeared meant to show that Israel was delivering Gaza into responsible hands capable of advancing democracy.
Many Palestinians were wary of Israel’s intentions, especially if it retains control of Gaza’s borders and its access to air and sea travel.
Hamas activists in Gaza City hung banners proclaiming the pullout as a victory for their intifada, or uprising.
Many have long feared that militants would attack Israel during the pullout to make it look like a retreat.
Abbas has pleaded with the armed groups not to attack, however, and with ordinary Palestinians looking for positive changes out of the withdrawal, the militants may refrain from major violence.
Abbas stands to benefit from the pullout if it proceeds peacefully; otherwise Israel is not likely to cede to Palestinian demands for open borders and eased restrictions in Gaza.
