I bet the Pal leaders are already picking out the houses they want to occupy when the Israelis leave the settlements.
Israel Would Keep Its Access Under Gaza Evacuation Plan
By John Ward Anderson and Molly Moore
Washington Post Foreign Service
Saturday, April 17, 2004; Page A12
JERUSALEM, April 16 -- The proposed Israeli evacuation of Jewish settlements and soldiers from the Gaza Strip would allow the military to continue to enter Gaza and permit Israel to maintain control over its airspace, seaports and border crossings, according to the first official text of the plan made public late Thursday.
All 7,500 Jewish settlers and the Israeli troops that protect them would be evacuated by the end of 2005, according to the document, which stated, "Israel will aspire to leave standing the real estate assets" as well as "the water, electricity and sewage infrastructure" in the 21 communities to be abandoned.
The general outline of the unilateral disengagement plan proposed by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has been known for several months, but details of Israel's continued controls over Gaza and other details remained a closely guarded secret as Israeli and U.S. officials negotiated what commitments the United States was willing to make. After meeting with Sharon at the White House on Wednesday, President Bush strongly endorsed the plan and agreed to several major U.S. policy shifts on borders, refugees and settlements, making the U.S. positions more favorable to Israel.
Palestinian officials, already dismayed by Bush's endorsement, said the text exposed new flaws in the disengagement proposal.
"This is changing Gaza into a big prison," said Saeb Erekat, the Palestinian's chief negotiator with the Israelis. He said that with Bush's endorsement of the plan, "We've been set back at least 50 years."
Raanan Gissin, a spokesman for Sharon, dismissed the Palestinian complaints and said, "We're giving them something on a platter and they're just coming up with excuses as to why they don't want to conduct the necessary steps against terrorist activity."
After the Gaza withdrawal, Israel would continue to control all access into and out of the small coastal strip, effectively keeping its 1.2 million Palestinian inhabitants inside a heavily guarded enclosure that is about twice the size of Washington, according to Sharon's plan. Most residents of Gaza have not been permitted to leave for years, even for medical, family or other emergencies.
"Israel will supervise and guard the external envelope on land," the document said, "will maintain exclusive control in the air space of Gaza, and will continue to conduct military activities in the sea space of the Gaza Strip."
"Israel reserves for itself the basic right of self-defense," the plan stated, "including taking preventative steps as well as responding by using force against threats that will emerge from the Gaza Strip."
The document proposes that Jewish settlements and their infrastructure be turned over to "an international body" modeled after the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee, a group of 17 nations, international organizations and donor groups that oversees financial donations to the Palestinian Authority.
The plan says that the oversight group should "appraise the value of all the assets" Israel leaves behind, adding that Israel "reserves the right" to be reimbursed.
A key component of the agreement between the United States and Israel that has not been publicized is how much money -- if any -- the United States would provide to aid in the relocation of the Gaza settlers. The cost, including the potential construction of entire new towns and agricultural areas, is expected to be in the billions of dollars. An Israeli official who spoke on condition of anonymity said that Israel expects the United States to finance a large portion of the relocation, but said the amount is not being publicized because of sensitivities over budget issues in the United States.
When Israel withdrew from the Sinai Peninsula in 1982, the military destroyed all houses and infrastructure for settlements inhabited by several thousand Jewish settlers. Sharon was defense minister during the operation.
© 2004 The Washington Post Company |
