Stressing unilateralism of the Disengagement plan, Israeli political source said coordination with the Palestinians is not a must for the pullout to take place, Israel Radio reported on Saturday.
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‘Israel will evacuate its settlements from the Gaza Strip under any circumstance,’ the source said.
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The source added that Israel warned the Palestinians against attempts of shelling the settlements during the evacuation.  The source said, should that happen, Israel would send large military forces into Palestinian areas in the Strip.
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Israel also rejected a Palestinian request to send armed police forces from the West Bank to the Gaza Strip to help maintain calm during the evacuation, the source said.
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However, military sources in Israel denied that saying that armed Palestinian police will be granted access to the Strip ahead of the evacuation.
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This was based on understanding reached in meetings between Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz and Palestinian Minister of Interior Nasser Yousef and Minister of Civil Affairs, in charge of the disengagement plan file, Mohammad Dahlan.
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However, this move will include increased training, the establishment of Special Forces and a special policing unit to be in charge of maintaining security, during and after the evacuation.
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Following the ruling by the Israeli Supreme Court on Thursday, which states the disengagement as “legal” and that the West Bank and Gaza Strip are not part of Israel, Vice Premier Shimon Peres said on Saturday that the slogan ‘A Jew does not evacuate a fellow Jew’ used by disengagement opposition is ‘far from being true and groundless.’
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‘Israel is evacuating Jews from non-Israeli territory back to Israel in order to guarantee the safety and well-being of its citizens; this is not deportation, but saving Jewish lives,’ said Peres.
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Dahlan and Mofaz discussed on Friday the status of the border crossings into and out of the Gaza Strip.
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Mainly civilian aspects of the pullout and ways to get financial aid to buy advanced security equipment on the crossings with Israel were discussed
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Following the meeting, Dahlan commented that he was not provided with a clear idea on the status of the border crossings and the Palestinian Airport.
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The two also discussed the possibility of granting additional work permits for Palestinians after the disengagement, and methods of transferring goods between Israel and the Palestinian areas.
