FAQ # 7 - Is there a special Code of Conduct for Disengagement?
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/574210.html
Mon., May 09, 2005 Nisan 30, 5765
IDF, settler leaders formulate 'code of conduct' for pullout
By Amos Harel, Haaretz Correspondent
The Israel Defense Forces together with the leadership of the Gush Katif
settlements are formulating a code of conduct ahead of the evacuation of settlements
in the Strip, the IDF announced on Monday in a press conference.
Colonel Erez Katz, commander of the GOC Southern Command training facility,
said that the IDF has carefully gone over the mistakes made during the evacuation
of Yamit in 1982 and several illegal outposts in the West Bank in the last
few years.
According to Katz, one of the key lessons learned is the importance of maintaining
an open line of communication with settler leadership during the evacuation.
The colonel added that the Gaza Strip settlement evacuation is one of the
most complex tasks the IDF has ever faced.
"Senior officers will be present at the site of evacuation as it will
be carried out," said Katz, "in order to defuse potentially volatile
situations. The settlers are not the enemy, they are our brothers," the
colonel said.
Colonel Ofer Segal, head of the IDF infantry force training department said
that soldiers have received very detailed instructions about the cases in
which they will be allowed to use force. According to Segal, troops and soldiers
that will take part in the physical evacuation of settlers will arrive to
settlements without any weapons.
The officer said that the IDF is now formulating instructions on opening
fire for the forces that will form the outer circles of the evacuation.
"Under no circumstances," said Segal, "will soldiers open
fire at an Israeli crowd, even if they are protesters breaking through IDF
and police roadblocks in order to return to the Gaza Strip."
Segal added that special forces will be kept on alert in case extremists
using fire arms will have to be neutralized during a blockade.