Prime Minister Ariel Sharon ordered workers to begin implementing a plan to move from Gaza two main crossing points used by Palestinians to enter Israel, signaling the start of Sharon’s unilateral disengagement plan, a senior Israeli official said yesterday.
The Erez crossing, the main entrance for Palestinian workers into Israel and a site of previous clashes and suicide bombings, will shift northward into Israel.
In addition, pending Egyptian approval, the Rafah crossing, which currently borders Israel and Egypt, would be moved 1.5 miles south into Egyptian territory, said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity. The Egyptians would take over security for the crossing.
The official said the removal of the two crossing points from Gaza is meant to formally end the cooperation between Israeli and Palestinian security forces mandated by the 1993 Oslo Accords, but which crumbled at the start of the intifada three years ago.
Moving the crossings from Gaza may also demonstrate to the Palestinians that Sharon is serious about completely withdrawing from the Gaza Strip.
Sharon’s withdrawal plan calls for Egypt and the international community to take over security in Gaza, and for a Jordanian security contingent to assume responsibility for certain parts of the West Bank that Israel plans to vacate.
Israel announced last week that the Erez industrial park, which borders the current location of the Erez crossing and employs some 4,000 Palestinians, will be closed as well.
Sharon contends the withdrawal from Gaza and separation from the Palestinians will increase Israel’s security and strengthen its case to retain West Bank settlements.
Sharon touts as a resulting diplomatic triumph President Bush’s recent announcement that Israel should be allowed to keep most of its West Bank settlements, home to over 250,000 Israelis, due to “realities on the ground.”
Israel’s security council last week called for the voluntary evacuation of settlements to begin next month. If settlers refuse to leave by August 2005, Sharon says they will be forced from their homes by the IDF in the first two weeks of September.
Dozens of settlers have contacted the prime minister’s office to claim a $300,000-per-family relocation package. But the Yesha settlers council, an umbrella organization representing Jewish residents of Gaza, says most settlers slated for evacuation have signed a declaration that they will stay put no matter what, foreshadowing the possibility of violent confrontations with the Israeli army.
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