"I have given an order to plan for the evacuation of 17 settlements in the Gaza Strip." So said Prime Minister Ariel Sharon today in an interview with Haaretz columnist Yoel Marcus. "It is my intention to carry out an evacuation - sorry, a relocation - of settlements that cause us problems and of places that we will not hold onto anyway in a final settlement, like the Gaza settlements," Sharon said.
At least one Knesset Member of the Likud, Ehud Yatom, said that he would prefer to go to new elections - i.e., topple his own party's government - rather than support such a plan. MKs of the National Union said that Sharon is using the Jews and land of Gaza as a way of saving himself from the threat of being indicted in the Greek island affair.
Sharon acknowledged that his plan would not be easy to implement: "We are talking of a population of 7,500 people. It's not a simple matter. We are talking of thousands of square kilometers of hothouses, factories and packing plants. People there who are third-generation. The first thing is to ask their agreement, to reach an agreement with the residents. To move thousands of dunams of hothouses, educational institutions, thousands and thousands of vehicles - it's not a quick matter, especially if it's done under fire."
Sharon, who is credited with being one of the prime forces behind the settlement enterprise in Judea, Samaria and Gaza, added confidently, however, "I am working on the assumption that in the future there will be no Jews in Gaza."
Meretz MK Zahava Gal'on said that Sharon was merely talking, while Shinui MK Ilan Leibovitch said he hoped that this was not just another "spin" of Sharon before his upcoming police questioning session.
The Gaza Coast Regional Council responded by saying, first of all, that there are 21 Jewish communities in Gaza, and not 17. In addition, "The residents of Gush Katif will do everything in the framework of the law, with the help of other elements in the national camp, to shorten Sharon's tenure as Prime Minister. We call upon Sharon to revert immediately to his previous and favorable positions, and not to bring another catastrophe upon the people of Israel with the expulsion of Jews from their homes."
The Yesha Council warns the Prime Minister to heed the warnings sounded by the IDF against the detachment plan and regarding the dangers of giving a prize to terrorists. "If he travels to the U.S. with a plan to uproot these communities, he will have lost his moral right to rule," the Council stated this afternoon.
At least one Knesset Member of the Likud, Ehud Yatom, said that he would prefer to go to new elections - i.e., topple his own party's government - rather than support such a plan. MKs of the National Union said that Sharon is using the Jews and land of Gaza as a way of saving himself from the threat of being indicted in the Greek island affair.
Sharon acknowledged that his plan would not be easy to implement: "We are talking of a population of 7,500 people. It's not a simple matter. We are talking of thousands of square kilometers of hothouses, factories and packing plants. People there who are third-generation. The first thing is to ask their agreement, to reach an agreement with the residents. To move thousands of dunams of hothouses, educational institutions, thousands and thousands of vehicles - it's not a quick matter, especially if it's done under fire."
Sharon, who is credited with being one of the prime forces behind the settlement enterprise in Judea, Samaria and Gaza, added confidently, however, "I am working on the assumption that in the future there will be no Jews in Gaza."
Meretz MK Zahava Gal'on said that Sharon was merely talking, while Shinui MK Ilan Leibovitch said he hoped that this was not just another "spin" of Sharon before his upcoming police questioning session.
The Gaza Coast Regional Council responded by saying, first of all, that there are 21 Jewish communities in Gaza, and not 17. In addition, "The residents of Gush Katif will do everything in the framework of the law, with the help of other elements in the national camp, to shorten Sharon's tenure as Prime Minister. We call upon Sharon to revert immediately to his previous and favorable positions, and not to bring another catastrophe upon the people of Israel with the expulsion of Jews from their homes."
The Yesha Council warns the Prime Minister to heed the warnings sounded by the IDF against the detachment plan and regarding the dangers of giving a prize to terrorists. "If he travels to the U.S. with a plan to uproot these communities, he will have lost his moral right to rule," the Council stated this afternoon.