More troops to speed up Jewish withdrawal

Thousands more Israeli soldiers will be sent to the Gaza Strip to dismantle Jewish settlements this summer, security officials said today, after the defence minister decided over the weekend to cut the time for evacuation from two months to one month.

Gaza settlers, meanwhile, have begun hoarding supplies in preparation for what they believe will be a long stand-off with Israeli troops.

“We are making sure we will have water and generators, along with essentials such as rice, pasta, and even baby formula and diapers,” said Datia Yitzhaki, one of the organisers.

Israeli security officials said that as a result of Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz’ decision to accelerate the withdrawal, an additional 3,000 soldiers would be sent to Gaza, bringing to 27,000 the number of security personnel to take part in the operation.

Defence officials said that in cutting short the timetable, Mofaz wants to make it harder for Jewish extremists to disrupt the pullout.

A speedier withdrawal would become easier if Israel decides to leave settlement homes intact. Israel initially said it would destroy the buildings, but is now leaning toward leaving them standing.

The officials said the expedited timetable would require three army divisions to provide sufficient troops to evacuate settlements simultaneously. They said soldiers would be directly involved in removing settlers from their homes, a change from the original plan.

The original plan had envisioned 6,000 soldiers – two divisions – isolating the 21 Gaza settlements during the evacuation and protecting them against Palestinian attack, as 18,000 policemen remove some 8,500 settlers.

Gaza settler spokesman Eran Sternberg said he was unconcerned by the new timetable.

“He (Mofaz) knows that all Gaza settlers are strong and that they are staying in place. No force on earth can move them – not in three weeks and not in 200 weeks,” he said.

Settlers are stockpiling supplies, preparing for the possibility that authorities could cut off essential services, said Yitzhaki, head of a settlers’ committee on preparing for the stand-off.

She said the committee is soliciting donations to ready Gaza housing units for a mass influx of disengagement opponents from outside the territory. “We have already had hundreds of applications,” she said.

Ehud Barak, former prime minister and military chief of staff, said he warned defence officials that even its abbreviated form, the withdrawal timetable is still too long.

“I told them not 12 weeks, but 12 days,” he told Army Radio. “Anything else is a recipe for not carrying out the disengagement.”