Let us hope that at last we have some hope for peace.
Fury over dismantling of Jewish settlements
By Barbara Demick in Jerusalem
July 1 2002
The Israeli Government was due to start dismantling illegal Jewish settlements in the West Bank yesterday, despite protests from settlers, because of the difficulty of protecting the communities, the Defence Minister, Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, said.
Mr Ben-Eliezer, who heads the Labour Party, said 10 settlements - often no more than clusters of mobile homes flying Israeli flags - would be removed by the end of the day and another 10 during the next few days, following weekend negotiations with the settlement leaders.
Even though the settlements are often remote outposts of established settlements, with small populations, they constitute an emotionally charged issue for both Palestinians and Israelis. While Palestinians consider them an affront to their sovereignty, many Israelis resent the burden they pose on the army, which has the responsibility of protecting them. The minister did not identify the settlements to be dismantled.
Mr Ben-Eliezer, who announced the demolitions at a Labour Party meeting on Saturday, is facing criticism from some members who believe the party has lost credibility because of its coalition with hard-line Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, particularly in the midst of the latest crackdown.
A prominent settler leader, Hasdai Eliezer, attacked Mr Ben-Eliezer, saying the decision to dismantle the settlements would be seen as rewarding terrorism. and that it was a "political act" designed to appease the minister's critics within the party.
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Peace Now, an Israeli group that opposes settlements, released a report on Saturday saying that at least 44 new settlement sites had been established in the West Bank since Mr Sharon was elected prime minister in February 2001.
The outpost settlements are most vulnerable to attack by Palestinian militants because they are often located outside perimeter fences. Their residents are considered the most ideological and radical of the settlers.
"They imitate the Wild West. They have horses. They have cattle. They have guns. They are playing cowboy and treating others, in this case the Palestinians, as though they are the Indians," said Amiram Goldblum of Peace Now.
He said that although removing the outposts might address some Labour Party complaints about Mr Ben-Eliezer, it would do little to address the larger problem of the settlements.
"It is not even a drop in the bucket. More like a drop in the well," he said.
In other developments, three passengers on a train were injured early yesterday when a bomb planted on the tracks near the Israeli city of Lod exploded. The blast damaged one rail carriage of the train which officials said was carrying about 500 passengers.
The Israeli army continued to sift through the wreckage of the former Palestinian security headquarters in Hebron looking unsuccessfully for the bodies of 15 Palestinian militants who it had said were holed up inside. The four-storey building, which had dominated the Hebron skyline, was blown up by the army on Friday night.
Agencies
This story was found at: smh.com.au |
