Police classify Gaza settlers for 'dangers' they may pose
Reprinted with permission from Haaretz ©
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/572050.html
By Jonathan Lis, Yuval Yoaz and Nir Hasson, Haaretz Correspondents
Wed., May 04, 2005 Nisan 25, 5765
The Israeli police have mapped all of the homes in settlements
slated to be evacuated during the disengagement, collecting intelligence information
on settlers and the level of danger they could pose during the evacuation.
The police are expected to shoulder the major burden of physically evacuating
settlers from their homes.
According to Major General Berty Ohayon, head of the police Operations Branch,
"Police are studying every home in the settlements, who lives in it,
how many children, what kind of car the family owns, and what are the special
circumstances of everyone in the family, such as: are there soldiers or pets
in the home, or if the family in question is bereaved.
"Files will be ready for use in the field for each house that will be
evacuated in order to ensure we are ready."
Under no circumstances will the police break into a home without knowing
its traits, Ohayon added.
Livni: Number of settlers to dictate Nitzanim plan
The scope of the plan to resettle Gush Katif evacuees in the area between
Ashdod and Ashkelon will depend on how many settlers sign onto the plan, Justice
Minister Tzipi Livni said Tuesday after meeting with settler representatives
late Monday night.
Livni and the director general of the Prime Minister's Office, Ilan Cohen,
proposed a "modular" plan to the settlers in which up to four new
settlements, along with the expansion of Moshav Nitzan by 300-500 houses,
would be established in the Nitzanim area.
But the number of new settlements and whether they will be independent or
part of north Ashkelon would be determined by the "critical mass"
of settlers who join the plan. Usually, at least 10,000 residents are required
to establish a regional council, however, in certain cases, 5,000 residents
is sufficient. An estimated 1,500 households make up the Gush Katif settlements.
Livni said Tuesday that the government would not insist on the typical number
required for municipality status, "but there won't be a separate municipality
for 200 families."
Deputy Attorney General Michael Balas and settler group representatives are
to draft a form letter that settlers must sign to join the plan. The sides
began formulating the letter on Tuesday night, with the goal of bringing in
as many settlers as possible by Tuesday, when the government must make its
final decision.
The letter is being drafted in a way that will give the state a reasonable
level of certainty over how many people will accept the plan. This will enable
the government to determine the amount of money needed to advance the plan.
"We can't send tractors out until we know how many people are involved,"
a senior government source said.
The chairman of the legal forum representing the settlers, Yitzhak Miron,
gave details of what has and has not been agreed upon with Livni to the Gaza
Coast Regional Council on Tuesday. The council plans to assess the situation
Wednesday in order to decide whether to proceed with the plan. However, the
settlers said they do not intend to meet the May 10 deadline, which was set
in a previous session of the National Planning and Construction Commission.
The commission is the government body authorized to determine whether a specific
area is designated for settlement. If the settlers give the green light, the
government would send the plan to the commission.
Meanwhile, an 11-member panel of High Court justices plans to issue a ruling
soon on a dozen petitions filed against the evacuation-compensation law. The
justices held a marathon session Tuesday in which it heard all 12 petitions,
saying it would issue a ruling based "on the head as well as the heart."
The justices also will consider visiting Gush Katif, as requested by some
of the petitioners. But they made it clear that they would not go if they
are greeted with the same hostility that Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz received
when he visited the settlement bloc last month.