About a dozen Labor Party MKs toured Gush Katif in Gaza today, meeting and talking with local residents and soldiers. The meetings were held on the backdrop of a call last night by Labor Party leader Shimon Peres for the evacuation of all Jews from Gaza. Peres is even acting to have the entire opposition, including Shas and coalition-party Shinui, support such a plan.
The Yesha Rabbis Council recommended that the Jewish residents not meet with the Labor MKs, because of the latter's "spirit of weakness and concessions… [It] started with giving weapons to the enemy, and ends with the desire to unilaterally abandon the land that is filled with the blood of our sacrifices who were killed by bullets shot from those very weapons."
Shimon Peres said that there is "no logic from the standpoint of security, diplomacy, or economic" that can justify the existence of the Jewish communities in Gaza, and that therefore Israel should abandon the areas.
The Gaza Coast Regional Council responded sharply, saying,
"It was Peres' 'logic' that brought entire battalions of terrorists to the area, and that has led to the covering of Gush Katif with concrete pillars and barbed wire - yet he is not ashamed to try to form a Knesset front to expel the Jews of Gush Katif from their homes."
Deputy Education Minister Tzvi Hendel (National Union), a resident of Ganei Tal in Gush Katif, said this morning,
"Peres, who brought upon us the Oslo Catastrophe, will never merit to see the uprooting of the Jews of Gush Katif. I hope his party colleagues will apologize today to the orphans, widows, and maimed for the heavy price in blood that the agreement he is signed upon has claimed."
Among the visiting MKs today were Dalia Itzik, Amram Mitzna, Ephraim Sneh, Yuli Tamir, Matan Vilnai, Yitzchak Herzog, Colette Avital, Danny Yatom, and others. Itzik said, "It's absurd that in times when there's no money to pay single mothers or to give to hospitals, our presence in Gaza and guarding the children is an unbearable burden." Hendel responded to her as well:
"The ones that caused the tremendous security burden are those who brought Oslo upon us. It used to be that far fewer soldiers had to guard us… The country must thank Gush Katif every day for serving as the 'flak jacket' of the country, as the IDF Southern Commander said."
Gaza Formation Commander Brig.-Gen. Gadi Shamni briefed the MKs today, telling them that the bombing of Gush Katif and Kfar Darom has stopped since the hudna was declared - but that the terrorists continue to smuggle weapons from Egypt via ten underground tunnels. "Under the terms of the cease-fire agreement, Israel promised not to take action against the them - and the terrorists are taking advantage of this," Gen. Shamni said.
The hour-long meeting between the MKs and the residents took place in the Land and Torah Seminary in Kfar Darom, and was described as "sincere and civil, without unnecessary arguments." The MKs explained why they felt the situation could not continue in this way, and the residents explained why it must. It was agreed that meetings of this nature should be held in the future.