It was revealed on Tuesday, following much speculation, that the right-wing figure who suggested that the Gush Katif residents be relieved of their weapons before their expulsion from their homes was Effie Eitam.
Public Security Minister Gideon Ezra first revealed that a leading figure involved with Yesha had made the suggestion to him. After each of the Yesha Council leaders said it wasn't them, Ezra finally publicized that it was none other than MK Eitam, a former IDF Brigadier-General and decorated war hero.
Eitam explained to the B'Sheva newspaper afterwards why he met with Ezra and what he hoped to achieve. "I turned to Ezra, because with the Prime Minister there's no one to talk to. I reminded him that four years ago, the police were involved in riots with Arabs in the Galilee and killed 13 [Arab] citizens, and that a soldier recently fired in the air during an evacuation in Yitzhar. We must therefore open lines of communication in order to neutralize the fears on both sides."
Eitam explained that his suggestion was not unilateral: "I proposed to the Minister that he announce that all soldiers and policemen taking part in the expulsion will not be armed, and the residents as well. We will make sure that the weapons are collected from the residents a few days before the actual expulsion; [they won't need them because] in any event the area will be guarded by thousands of soldiers."
Eitam blamed Minister Ezra for running to the media to continue the "de-legitimization campaign of the Gush Katif residents, instead of dealing with the issue itself."
B'Sheva's Adi Garsiel asked, "In retrospect, do you think you made a mistake by turning to him? Couldn't you have assumed that your words would have been leaked and distorted?"
Eitam: "It was not a mistake, because the alternative is not to have dialogue. I won't give up, for if there is no dialogue, a catastrophe could occur. We will meet with him again on Thursday [today], and we might also try to meet with Defense Minister Sha'ul Mofaz. I reminded Minister Ezra that the Ohr Commission of Inquiry sent the former Public Security Minister [Shlomo Ben-Ami] packing, as well as the Police Commissioner, after the riots of 2000. The first question that will be asked by the next commission of inquiry will be, 'Why wasn’t there dialogue beforehand?' We, as responsible leadership, must strive towards this."
Eitam, who resigned his ministerial position in June 2004 after the Cabinet approved the disengagement plan in principle, moved this week to Netzer Hazani in Gaza. MK Uri Ariel moved to Gush Katif this week, as well, and MK Aryeh Eldad will move to Sa-Nur in the Shomron in the coming days.
Eitam said he plans to discuss with Ezra the plan to seal off, in the coming weeks, the Gush Katif area to all non-resident citizens. Eitam will also demand that all policemen be required, as the law stipulates, to wear nametags during all disengagement activities, and that all police brutality be dealt with aggressively.
"It cannot be that a country headed for such a brutal and practically illegitimate step would not conduct dialogue with its citizens," Eitam concluded.
Not everyone agrees. Pinchas Wallerstein, head of the Binyamin Regional Council, said he would boycott today's meeting. "I am not willing to sit together with Likud ministers who promote the uprooting and destruction plan," he said.
Public Security Minister Gideon Ezra first revealed that a leading figure involved with Yesha had made the suggestion to him. After each of the Yesha Council leaders said it wasn't them, Ezra finally publicized that it was none other than MK Eitam, a former IDF Brigadier-General and decorated war hero.
Eitam explained to the B'Sheva newspaper afterwards why he met with Ezra and what he hoped to achieve. "I turned to Ezra, because with the Prime Minister there's no one to talk to. I reminded him that four years ago, the police were involved in riots with Arabs in the Galilee and killed 13 [Arab] citizens, and that a soldier recently fired in the air during an evacuation in Yitzhar. We must therefore open lines of communication in order to neutralize the fears on both sides."
Eitam explained that his suggestion was not unilateral: "I proposed to the Minister that he announce that all soldiers and policemen taking part in the expulsion will not be armed, and the residents as well. We will make sure that the weapons are collected from the residents a few days before the actual expulsion; [they won't need them because] in any event the area will be guarded by thousands of soldiers."
Eitam blamed Minister Ezra for running to the media to continue the "de-legitimization campaign of the Gush Katif residents, instead of dealing with the issue itself."
B'Sheva's Adi Garsiel asked, "In retrospect, do you think you made a mistake by turning to him? Couldn't you have assumed that your words would have been leaked and distorted?"
Eitam: "It was not a mistake, because the alternative is not to have dialogue. I won't give up, for if there is no dialogue, a catastrophe could occur. We will meet with him again on Thursday [today], and we might also try to meet with Defense Minister Sha'ul Mofaz. I reminded Minister Ezra that the Ohr Commission of Inquiry sent the former Public Security Minister [Shlomo Ben-Ami] packing, as well as the Police Commissioner, after the riots of 2000. The first question that will be asked by the next commission of inquiry will be, 'Why wasn’t there dialogue beforehand?' We, as responsible leadership, must strive towards this."
Eitam, who resigned his ministerial position in June 2004 after the Cabinet approved the disengagement plan in principle, moved this week to Netzer Hazani in Gaza. MK Uri Ariel moved to Gush Katif this week, as well, and MK Aryeh Eldad will move to Sa-Nur in the Shomron in the coming days.
Eitam said he plans to discuss with Ezra the plan to seal off, in the coming weeks, the Gush Katif area to all non-resident citizens. Eitam will also demand that all policemen be required, as the law stipulates, to wear nametags during all disengagement activities, and that all police brutality be dealt with aggressively.
"It cannot be that a country headed for such a brutal and practically illegitimate step would not conduct dialogue with its citizens," Eitam concluded.
Not everyone agrees. Pinchas Wallerstein, head of the Binyamin Regional Council, said he would boycott today's meeting. "I am not willing to sit together with Likud ministers who promote the uprooting and destruction plan," he said.