Jewish settlements grow ahead of Gaza withdrawal

Jewish settlements earmarked for evacuation have shown marked population growth, according to Interior Ministry figures released yesterday, and settlers said supporters are moving to these communities to strengthen them ahead of the planned withdrawal.

Thousands of other settlers are expected to head to the area just before the pullout this summer from all Gaza Strip and four West Bank settlements, a settler leader said.

In the past year, the Gaza settlements have grown 9.1%, nearly 5% of that just in the past six months, the ministry said. The four northern West Bank settlements grew by nearly 12% since June 2004.

Israel is preparing for large-scale resistance to the withdrawal. Rabbis aligned with the settler movement have asked soldiers to refuse dismantling settlements.

Asked about the population increase, settler spokesman Yehoshua Mor-Yosef said: “This is a natural reaction of people to strengthen the places that are slated for evacuation.”

“On the day of the evacuation there will be thousands who will go there,” Mor-Yosef added.

The evacuation is scheduled to begin on July 3, but according to the law being considered by parliament, the settlements will be closed to outsiders several weeks earlier, in an attempt to prevent opposition.

In 1982, when Israel dismantled Sinai Desert settlements in the framework of a peace deal with Egypt, hundreds of hardliners flocked to the area.

The Sa-Nur settlement in the northern West Bank had the most dramatic growth, increasing its population by 52.2%, or 36 people. The small, isolated community of 105 people is not far from the Palestinian town of Jenin.

The Gaza settlements now have 8,550 residents, compared to 8,158 on June 30, a 4.8% increase.

Meanwhile, six reserve Israeli army officers were dismissed from command roles today after they indicated they would refuse to carry out orders to evacuate Jewish settlements, defining such a move as “completely illegal”.

The punishment was the first such move by the military in connection with the government’s plan to evacuate all 21 settlements in the Gaza Strip and four in the West Bank this summer.