WAR: Israeli Cabinet approves final plan to withdraw from Gaza, West Bank

On Sunday the Israeli Cabinet in a 17-5 vote made official plans to withdraw settlers from the Gaza strip and 4 West Bank Towns. This is the first time an Israeli Government has voted to dismantle settlements in areas claimed as portions of the future Palestinian state. The plan affects 9000 settlers who would be moved starting in July. Opponents had hoped to bring the issue to the people in a referendum, but it appears this will no longer occur. Later today (Sunday) the cabinet is expected to vote on the final line of the security fence between Israel and Palestine. It is believed that this fence will become a defacto border between Israel and any official nation of Palestine.



I think this is a great move in the right direction for peace. Israel is finally taking steps to remove settlers from areas that they just don't belong. Basically you had situations where one settlement of Israelis would be surrounded by an entire city of Palestinians and the government was having to provide military support to keep them safe. Their intention was to spread out throughout the original borders of ancient Israel as many Orthodox Jews believed was their duty, but now the government is pulling them back so that Israel and Palestine have more of a chance to coexist. They have a long way to go, but this is very real progress towards the final goal of peace in that region.

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That was a historic decision.

Those voting against the plan included

* Finance Minister Binyamin Netanyahu
* Agriculture Minister Yisrael Katz
* Health Minister Dan Naveh
* and ministers-without-portfolio Natan Sharansky and Tzahi Hanegbi.

(Education Minister Limor Livnat and Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom who originally objected to the disengagement, voted in favor.)

The settlements will be evacuated according to the following order:

Stage 1: Morag, Netzarim and Kfar Darom.
(This are the more isolated of the Gazastrip towns)

Stage 2: The 4 northern West Bank settlements of Ganim, Kadim, Homesh and Sa-Nur.

Stage 3: The settlements in Gush Katif.
(This is the largest, including all 15 communities within the approximately 85-square kilometer [~ 33 square miles] area of Gush Katif.)

Stage 4: The northern Gaza settlements of Elei Sinai, Dugit and Nissanit.
(This are very secular communities of northern Gazastrip)

The cabinet decision states that evacuation can be carried out five months from the time the evacuation orders are issued - which means, some 6,000 IDF-troops and policemen - these "first circle" troops not be armed - could begin Stage 1 on July 21.

Every settlement that is evacuated will be ringed by a "second circle" of some 4,300 troops. The settlements will be evacuated one at a time. A "third circle" will secure the operation by protecting the area of the settlements and approach roads.

Israel TV Channel 2 reported that ca 6 six weeks would be devoted to withdrawing from Gazastrip and 2 weeks to the evacuation of the Westbank settlements.


Rebekka


[edit on 20-2-2005 by Riwka]

Netanyahu voted against? Why did he do that? Trying to get in power again by appealing to hard liners? Wow

...Maybe Netanyahu wishes to place himself in right-wing position in time for the next Likud election for party leader?

But Netanyahu explained in an interview that his nay vote against the plan today stems from the fact that a referendum is not being held - and is not a personal statement against Sharon.


Rebekka

Can a unilateral step which if so highly charged bring peace. I think not. If the Palestinians don't reciprocate with hard undenyable actions such as disarming Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Al-Aqtza Brigades and fighting terrorism this step will be not bring peace but will advance the next war.

I think that peace cannot be achieved so long as the Palestinian authority allows terrorists in its midst since they will always stive for the destruction of Israel. Israel has suffered dearly in human life and economically by signing the Oslo accords and subsequently by Arafats rejection of Camp David under Barak. Of course the Palestinian and pro-Palestinians blame Sharon for going to the temple mount as the spark of the Second Intifadah but anyone with the smallest bit of intelligence knows that the second intifadah was staged.
I think that concessions should be made towards Abu-Mazen but without reciprocating the Palestinians should not be given anything more.

Moreover, I feel that a final settlement with the Palestinians should require evacualtion of Palestinian from areas that are highly Jewish- for example Qalqilya and the Jordan Valley. Peace cannot be one sided concessions and population transfers must be reciprocal.

I do not agree with the statement that Settlers do not belong wherever they are. That is a matter of opinion which is generally biased. And to get the record straight, historically, the land was NEVER Palestinian. It was Jordanian or Egyptian, prior to that it was under Ottoman rule - Never Palestinian.