Bentzi Lieberman, head of the the Yesha (Judea, Samaria and Gaza) Council of Jewish Communities, announced Tuesday that Yesha leaders agreed to limit the rally in Sderot to three hours, after which participants will travel to the nearby town of Ofakim, south of Sderot. Lieberman made the announcement after meeting with the heads of the Southern Command of the police and army, Uri Bar-Lev and Major General Dan Harel.
Lieberman denied police officials' statements that the Yesha Council had agreed to limit the Sderot rally to a "few thousand." The police also said the rally must be held in a closed auditorium. Bar-Lev declined to state a specific number it would allow to attend, but it is doubtful that any auditorium will be able to hold the tens of thousands who are expected at the demonstration, which is to begin at 6:00 PM.
Yesha Council member Pinchas Wallerstein told Voice of Israel Radio that police statements, and particularly a claim by Public Security Minister Gideon Ezra that the council had agreed to limit the number of rally participant, were completely groundless. " I am shocked by comments by Gideon Ezra," Wallerstein said. "There never was a limit to the number. After our agreement [with the police], suddenly reservations arose, possibly from Sharon himself."
The police and army officials claim that they do not want the protest to be held outside in order to lessen the danger of a mortar shell or rocket attacks by Arab terrorists. Sderot is less than half a mile from northern Gaza and has frequently been attacked. Ofakim is beyond the range of most mortar shells and rockets, although security officials have said that Arab terrorists have developed longer-range weapons.
The Yesha Council refused an army demand that it prevent people from marching towards Gush Katif and denied police claims that it agreed to end the rally on Friday. Organizers claim the protest will continue at the Eshkol Park, near Ofakim, over the Sabbath. The Yesha Council has, however, agreed to keep demonstrators from approaching Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's nearby Sycamore Ranch.
The police and army have deployed thousands of policemen and soldiers to block paths from Ofakim and Sderot to northern Gaza and Gush Katif.
The different versions on the agreement are characteristic of the talks between Yesha Council and government officials since the huge demonstration at Netivot and Kfar Maimon two weeks ago.
Lieberman charged that an agreement had been reached with the police and IDF but that Defense Minister Sha'ul Mofaz, who tried to convince Yesha to protest out of the range of mortars and rockets, has not fulfilled previous promises.
Council member Tzviki Bar-Chai accused Mofaz of using security concerns manipulatively, as a means to squelch political dissent. He said there is no reason that protestors cannot be in Sderot when the town's residents are live within the range of the rockets and mortars on a daily basis.
Lieberman added, "We brought tens of thousands to Gush Katif on Independence Day and Passover. There, the Kassam threat is a lot more concrete, and no one stopped us from holding the protest there. Mofaz's Kassam threat excuse doesn't sound honest."
Before the agreement, police threatened to keep buses and private cars of non-residents from approaching Sderot. Yesha leaders vowed that thousands of opponents to the expulsion plan would reach the town "by tractor, bicycle or by foot."
Despite the peaceful rally at Kfar Maimon which won praise from media and politicians, police officials are repeating the dire prediction that preceded the previous rally. Various officials appearing on state-run radio stations said Tuesday morning that they are anticipating violence. Activists say there is a "strategy of intimidation" handed down by the Sharon family itself, aimed at keeping the masses from traveling to Sderot.
Attorney-General Menachem Mazuz has stated that the rally is not legitimate because its goal is to forcefully prevent the government from carrying out "decisions made by the authorized institutions of the state." He accused expulsion opponents of "violence, incitement and the delegitimization" of government decisions.
Expulsion opponents have charged that politicians, government officials and media have waged a year-long campaign to present them as enemies of the state because they oppose the government plan to expel Jewish residents from 25 communities in Gaza and northern Samaria.
Knesset member Effie Eitam, who announced on Monday he has joined the National Union party, accused Sharon of trying to "abolish the last right remaining to disengagement opponents - the right to protest."
Lieberman denied police officials' statements that the Yesha Council had agreed to limit the Sderot rally to a "few thousand." The police also said the rally must be held in a closed auditorium. Bar-Lev declined to state a specific number it would allow to attend, but it is doubtful that any auditorium will be able to hold the tens of thousands who are expected at the demonstration, which is to begin at 6:00 PM.
Yesha Council member Pinchas Wallerstein told Voice of Israel Radio that police statements, and particularly a claim by Public Security Minister Gideon Ezra that the council had agreed to limit the number of rally participant, were completely groundless. " I am shocked by comments by Gideon Ezra," Wallerstein said. "There never was a limit to the number. After our agreement [with the police], suddenly reservations arose, possibly from Sharon himself."
The police and army officials claim that they do not want the protest to be held outside in order to lessen the danger of a mortar shell or rocket attacks by Arab terrorists. Sderot is less than half a mile from northern Gaza and has frequently been attacked. Ofakim is beyond the range of most mortar shells and rockets, although security officials have said that Arab terrorists have developed longer-range weapons.
The Yesha Council refused an army demand that it prevent people from marching towards Gush Katif and denied police claims that it agreed to end the rally on Friday. Organizers claim the protest will continue at the Eshkol Park, near Ofakim, over the Sabbath. The Yesha Council has, however, agreed to keep demonstrators from approaching Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's nearby Sycamore Ranch.
The police and army have deployed thousands of policemen and soldiers to block paths from Ofakim and Sderot to northern Gaza and Gush Katif.
The different versions on the agreement are characteristic of the talks between Yesha Council and government officials since the huge demonstration at Netivot and Kfar Maimon two weeks ago.
Lieberman charged that an agreement had been reached with the police and IDF but that Defense Minister Sha'ul Mofaz, who tried to convince Yesha to protest out of the range of mortars and rockets, has not fulfilled previous promises.
Council member Tzviki Bar-Chai accused Mofaz of using security concerns manipulatively, as a means to squelch political dissent. He said there is no reason that protestors cannot be in Sderot when the town's residents are live within the range of the rockets and mortars on a daily basis.
Lieberman added, "We brought tens of thousands to Gush Katif on Independence Day and Passover. There, the Kassam threat is a lot more concrete, and no one stopped us from holding the protest there. Mofaz's Kassam threat excuse doesn't sound honest."
Before the agreement, police threatened to keep buses and private cars of non-residents from approaching Sderot. Yesha leaders vowed that thousands of opponents to the expulsion plan would reach the town "by tractor, bicycle or by foot."
Despite the peaceful rally at Kfar Maimon which won praise from media and politicians, police officials are repeating the dire prediction that preceded the previous rally. Various officials appearing on state-run radio stations said Tuesday morning that they are anticipating violence. Activists say there is a "strategy of intimidation" handed down by the Sharon family itself, aimed at keeping the masses from traveling to Sderot.
Attorney-General Menachem Mazuz has stated that the rally is not legitimate because its goal is to forcefully prevent the government from carrying out "decisions made by the authorized institutions of the state." He accused expulsion opponents of "violence, incitement and the delegitimization" of government decisions.
Expulsion opponents have charged that politicians, government officials and media have waged a year-long campaign to present them as enemies of the state because they oppose the government plan to expel Jewish residents from 25 communities in Gaza and northern Samaria.
Knesset member Effie Eitam, who announced on Monday he has joined the National Union party, accused Sharon of trying to "abolish the last right remaining to disengagement opponents - the right to protest."