MIDDLE EAST: Weapons belonging to Jewish settlers in areas to be evacuated as part of Israel's disengagement plan will be collected by the army before the evacuation begins, by force if necessary, defence minister Shaul Mofaz said yesterday.
The military wants to ensure that there will be no armed settlers during the pullout for fear this could lead to live fire incidents as troops move in to evacuate settlers from their homes. Mr Mofaz told a parliamentary committee that those settlers who refused to give up their guns would have them taken by force.
The defence minister was referring specifically to those guns that the army has provided to settlers - especially security officers and civilian rapid response teams inside settlements - in the event of attacks by Palestinian militants. The weapons, he said, were "the army's property" and would be taken "forcefully" from anyone refusing to hand them over.
He also warned that the military would take harsh retaliatory action if Palestinian militants attacked Israeli targets during the pullout, in which Israel will evacuate all 21 settlements in Gaza and four in the northern West Bank.
"It has been decided that the disengagement will not take place under fire," he told lawmakers. "We will do everything possible to co-ordinate the disengagement with the Palestinians."
A Palestinian Authority official said yesterday that over 5,000 police were being recruited in Gaza to ensure Israeli troops and settlers were not attacked during the pullout.
"We want to make the Israeli withdrawal smooth and fast," said Tawfik Abu Khoussa, a spokesman for the interior ministry. "If they are leaving, we should not impede them."
In Jerusalem, meanwhile, clashes between police and Palestinians erupted at a disputed holy site as Israel celebrated Jerusalem Day, when it marks the capture of the eastern part of the city during the 1967 war. Hundreds of Palestinians at the site began hurling stones at several Jews who were visiting the compound with a police escort. More police stormed into the compound, an area known to Jews as Temple Mount and to Muslims as al-Haram al-Sharif (Noble Sanctuary), hurling stun grenades to disperse the stone-throwers.
The compound is revered by Jews as the place where the biblical temples stood, while Muslims believe it is the spot from where Mohammed ascended to heaven. Israeli security forces fear Jewish extremists might target the mosques in an attempt to stall the Gaza withdrawal plan. Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas criticised Israel, saying the Jewish visitors should not have been allowed into the compound.