Palestinian militants fire rockets at Jewish settlement

Palestinian militants fired two rockets today at a Jewish settlement bloc in the Gaza Strip, with one landing near thousands of Israelis protesting against this summer’s planned withdrawal from the area. An Israeli soldier was lightly hurt by shrapnel.

The attack briefly disrupted the rally meant as a show of support for the settlers being uprooted from an area that Israel has occupied for 38 years. Many of the demonstrators were young families, taking time off from work and school during the Passover holiday.

Gaza settler leaders initially said they expected 100,000 people to turn out for the daylong event. However police said only about 20,000 people had turned up.

The first rocket landed just outside Neve Dekalim, several dozen yards away from the rally, the army said. Minutes later, a second rocket landed in a residential area of the settlement, causing no injuries, residents said. Associated Press Television News footage showed a rocket sticking out of the ground in a sandy area next to a playground.

Emily Amrussi, a spokeswoman for the settlers, said after the attacks that the event would go on. “Of course we are carrying on,” she said. “This ... shows the connection between the Palestinian enemy and (Prime Minister Ariel) Sharon because this is a rally against him.”

Some settler leaders have expressed hope that the protesters would stay in Gaza to resist the withdrawal. However, Avner Shimon, mayor of the Gaza settlements, said he expected the visitors to leave after Passover.

“People are coming to enjoy themselves, see the place and hug us and to tell us they are with us. I estimate that nobody will remain when it is over,” he told Israel Army Radio.

Early today, Israeli authorities closed the main crossing into the Gush Katif bloc of settlements to private cars, allowing only buses through. The army also closed a main Palestinian road and took up positions on the roof of a nearby Palestinian factory to protect settlers from Palestinian militants.

Organisers were selling orange flags and T-shirts, symbols of opposition to the withdrawal. During the day, event, organisers marched through Gaza’s seaside settlements and planned a rally later in the day. Many marchers carried orange balloons and wore shirts and hats saying “a Jew doesn’t expel a Jew.”

Neve Dekalim resident Sylvia Mazuz said the festive atmosphere was misleading. “Our hearts are heavy,” said Mazuz, 44, who has lived in the settlement for 14 years.

Mazuz, whose husband, four children and grandchildren all live in the settlement, said she has made no preparations for life after withdrawal and remains hopeful that the government will cancel the plan.

“We are waiting for salvation from God,” she said.

Under the plan, Israel will withdraw from all 21 Gaza settlements as well as four small settlements in the West Bank. About 9,000 Jewish settlers are slated to be evacuated from their homes.

During more than four years of fighting, militants have fired thousands of rockets and mortar shells at the Gaza settlements, though the number of attacks has fallen sharply since a February 8 cease-fire declaration.

Sharon says the withdrawal will improve Israel’s security while enabling him to cement Israeli control over large blocs of settlements in the West Bank.

Since Sharon announced the plan, settlers have held a number of large rallies in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Today’s rally was expected to be the largest protest inside Gaza so far.

“We want to create a sense in the public that this move is illegitimate,” said Chaniel Nahari, who came to today’s protest from his home in central Israel. “The government is caving in to terror and isn’t achieving anything.”

Nahari and his wife, Tovie, both schoolteachers, said they plan on moving to Gaza in about six weeks and will stay with friends throughout the withdrawal. They said they plan only passive resistance, but acknowledged there may be some extremists who will use violence against troops carrying out the evacuation.

Gaza settlers said they are refurbishing a row of old Egyptian homes on the beach to prepare for the expected influx of sympathisers. Israel captured Gaza from Egypt in the 1967 Mideast war.

The withdrawal is currently scheduled to begin in late July. But the government is considering a three-week delay that would push back the plan until August 15. A formal decision on the date is expected next week.

Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia, meanwhile, said the Palestinian Authority will establish a special court to examine property claims after the Israeli withdrawal.

Palestinian officials estimate more than 90% of land from which Israel will withdraw belongs to the Palestinian government, and that the remainder is private property confiscated by Israel.

“No one is allowed to buy or sell any piece of land in the occupied settlements because this is illegal and we are not going to recognise that,” Qureia said on Tuesday after a Cabinet meeting.

Although there has been a sharp drop in violence since the truce declaration, Israeli security officials said Palestinian militants in the West Bank are planning a new wave of attacks after the Israeli withdrawal. Late on Tuesday, Palestinian militants fired two Qassam rockets from Gaza toward the Israeli border town of Sderot.

Despite the warning, Israeli defence officials said they are prepared to hand over the West Bank town of Qalqiliya to Palestinian control as soon as next week.

Qalqiliya is among five West Bank towns that Israel agreed to hand over to the Palestinians as part of the cease-fire. But after turning over control of two towns, Israel has frozen the process, accusing the Palestinians of not being tough enough against armed militants.

In a separate development, the army said it arrested two Palestinian teenagers as they tried to cross through a West Bank checkpoint with a home-made gun and explosives.

The 14-year-old boys, who were arrested, said they had been sent by Palestinian militant groups. In recent years, militants have turned to women and teenagers to carry out attacks, believing they would raise fewer suspicions among Israeli troops.