Sharon postpones Gaza pull-out for one month

Israel’s evacuation of 21 Jewish settlements from the Gaza Strip will begin in mid-August, a month later than planned, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said today, citing a religious mourning period but raising doubts about Israel’s readiness for the evacuation and even its resolve in carrying it out.

Sharon told TV interviewers he was taking into account a request from Israel’s chief rabbis to put off the evacuation until after a three-week period in which Jews mourn the destruction of the biblical Temples in Jerusalem, ending with a one-day fast – falling this year on August 14.

However, many Jewish authorities have ruled there is no religious prohibition for carrying out the evacuation during the three-week period, and at most it would be a gesture to the settlers, most of whom are Orthodox Jews.

Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat complained the Israelis are going it alone. “We want to co-ordinate but we find ourselves waiting for the next Israeli dictate, the next unilateral decision,” he told The Associated Press.

In an interview with Israel TV in advance of Israel’s independence day this week, Sharon said the pull-out would start between August 15 and 17. “The evacuation will be carried out, giving consideration to the mourning period,” he said.

The original date for starting the removal of settlers from Gaza was July 20. The operation is expected to take about a month.

Many point out the Jewish calendar was well known when the original timetable was set, leading to the conclusion the government isn’t prepared to forcibly evacuate many of the 8,500 Gaza settlers and another 500 in the West Bank, because it has no place to put them – alternate housing has not been arranged. The government insists it’s ready.

And sceptics warn any delay could scuttle the withdrawal altogether, giving opponents more time to organise and allowing for other developments that could interfere – like a renewal of Palestinian-Israeli violence.

Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom, who opposes the pull-out, indicated it could not take place if the militant Hamas wins Palestinian parliamentary elections in mid-July. Hamas has threatened to abandon a three-month ceasefire unless Israel releases Palestinian prisoners as promised.

Even one of the strongest supporters of the pull-out, deputy prime minister Shimon Peres, said in an interview published today that the dispute over whether to leave Gaza houses standing could torpedo the Gaza exit.

Peres told The Jerusalem Post if Israel decides to tear down the houses, it would be responsible for removing the rubble. That could add weeks to the timetable and cost tens of millions of pounds. “This alone can spoil it,” he said.

Peres, leader of the moderate Labour Party, favours turning the settlement buildings over to the Palestinians, while hard-liners in Sharon’s Likud Party, led by Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, favour destroying the settlements so that the Palestinians will not be able to celebrate their “liberation.”

The Palestinians have said they have no preference, as long as Israel completes its withdrawal from Gaza.

In a TV interview, Sharon said no decision has been made. “The only situation where we do not destroy them is if there is full co-ordination with the Palestinians, and that co-ordination is not yet complete,” he said.

Opponents of the pull-out are convinced they can still stop it, and the delay is likely to give them a boost. Settlers plan to stream to Gaza to reinforce the resistance, blocking roads around the territory to hamper security forces. Security officials have warned that extremists among the settlers might open fire on police and soldiers.

Political opponents are still looking for ways to torpedo the evacuation, though the Cabinet and parliament have repeatedly voted approval. Shalom insisted Hamas cannot run in the Palestinian parliamentary elections, set for July 17, because it refuses to disarm.

After a meeting with Palestinian Interior Minister Nasser Yousef, Shalom asked rhetorically: “Would there be any way to negotiate peace when their main goal is the destruction of Israel? Would there be any way to go ahead with disengagement?” he asked, referring to the Gaza pullout plan.

According to the original timetable, the pull-out was to begin just a week after the Palestinian parliamentary election, where Hamas, fielding candidates for the first time, is expected to make a strong showing. The pullout delay would give Israeli opponents three more weeks to argue against handing Gaza over to a Palestinian government with a significant Hamas component.

Abbas has been under pressure to rein in militants, but today, Palestinian gunmen exchanged fire with his police in two West Bank locations. On the other hand, officials announced that all the fugitive militants in the two towns under Palestinian security control, Jericho and Tulkarem, have joined security forces. Israel rejected that, saying they must be disarmed.