Sharon To Support Gaza Delay
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has decided to support a delay of Israel's planned withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, according to Israel TV. Sharon has said a cabinet meeting on that issue will take place Tuesday.
Yonatan Bassi, a top official in planning the withdrawal, suggested the delay at a Cabinet meeting on Sunday, citing a three-week Jewish mourning period that begins in July and ends on Tisha B'Av, which this year falls on Aug. 14.
Observant Jews are not allowed to move during that mourning period, which begins in mid-July, reports CBS News Correspondent Robert Berger. But settlers said expelling Jews during the mourning period would be appropriate because it's a national disaster, just like the destruction of the Temples.
Under the new deadline, the withdrawal would begin after Tisha B'Av, the date of the destruction of the biblical temples on the Jewish calendar.
"We have to take every step to make it easier for the settlers," Sharon told reporters earlier Monday. "These are difficult days today."
In other developments:
Sharon has made no secret of his strategy, reports Berger: to get rid of the Gaza Strip, while tightening Israel's grip on West Bank settlement blocs and attaching them to Israel. Israeli officials have played down the dispute with the U.S., calling it a disagreement among friends.
The Israeli Cabinet also has approved construction of 150 temporary homes for some of the 8,000 Jewish settlers slated for evacuation from Gaza this summer. Rachel Sapperstein of Gaza's Gush Katif settlement bloc said Jews are becoming refugees in their homeland, and she blames Sharon.
"He has not spoken to us, he has never brought up any kind of a plan, he never had a plan for what to do with the people of Gush Katif," Sapperstein said.
In the 20 days before Tisha B'Av, observant Jews don't shave, go to the beach, cut their hair, listen to music or get married, and many refrain from eating meat. Tisha B'Av itself is a fast day.
Until now, Sharon has refused calls — both by settlers citing Tisha B'Av and military officials who requested more time to prepare — to delay the pullout.
Asaf Shariv, a top aide to Sharon, said the prime minister had set the timetable in order to complete the operation by the beginning of the school year on Sept. 1. But after Bassi's suggestion, he said, Sharon is reconsidering. "We will think about it. We will see what we will do," Shariv said.
Settler leader Pinchas Wallerstein said the soldiers told Sharon months ago that the timeline was problematic, especially for the Gaza settlers, who are mostly observant Jews.
"Maybe Tisha B'Av is appropriate. If you want to bring destruction on the nation of Israel maybe it is appropriate to do it on a date known for destruction," Wallerstein told Israel's Army Radio, adding that in the end the date of the evacuation is meaningless.
"The date doesn't matter to us. Our goal is to prevent the withdrawal," Wallerstein said.
Settlers fiercely oppose the withdrawal, and security forces have repeatedly warned of the threat of violence. An additional three weeks would give security forces more time to train for the evacuation, and give the government extra time to arrange temporary housing for the settlers. But it also could give extremists more time to prepare their resistance.
With just three months to go before the planned evacuation, preparations are only now beginning to kick into high gear, in part because of the stiff resistance Sharon has faced. Sharon only won final parliamentary approval in late March, weeks later than planned.
Soldiers and police have not begun training for the evacuation — which could involve forcibly removing thousands of settlers from their homes. On Sunday, the army, police and the Shin Bet internal security service held their first "war game" exercise, a computer simulation of "worst-case scenarios" that included violence by extremist Jews and Palestinian militants.
Rabbi Shlomo Aviner, the head rabbi of the West Bank settlement of Beit El, likened the possible delay to a mistress beating her servant, and then putting makeup on the servant's face "because your tears bother me."
Cabinet minister Tsipi Livni on Sunday said the settlers bear responsibility for the delays in preparations because of their refusal to believe the plan will take place. "There was no one to talk to" among the settlers, she said. "It started to sink in only after parliamentary approval" last month.
Hamas has threatened to call off a truce with Israel if the Palestinian elections are not held on time. Election officials have said they need three months to prepare for the election, and a delay in passing the legislation could jeopardize the vote.
But on Monday, Hassan Yousef, a Hamas leader in the West Bank, backed down from the threat, saying the two issues are not connected.
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas has said he remains committed to the July 17 date.
Hamas believes Abbas' Fatah party is trying to delay elections until after Israel's planned withdrawal from the Gaza Strip this summer — which itself may now be delayed.
They say Fatah, plagued by rampant corruption, wants time to regain their lost popularity and fear a strong showing from Hamas if elections are held on the set date.