Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon told his Government on Monday that the Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and four northern West Bank settlements.will not be postponed.
Sharon called on the settlers to head to the Disengagement Department and arrange their news residencies and their compensation.
“Every day spent without heading to the Disengagement Department is a day lost,†Sharon said.
Sharon made the comments during a meeting with the ministerial committee in charge of disengagement, which discussed arrangements for settlers who will be evacuated from the Gaza Strip and other issues.
Also, the Israeli police decided to allow anti-pullout activists to stage a rally on Tuesday evening in the Israeli Negev town of Sderot.
The police conditioned its approval with a commitment from the settlers council to refrain from heading to the Gush Katif settlement bloc in the Gaza Strip after the rally. Many right-wing activists, however, reportedly plan to ignore the agreement and continue their efforts to enter the settlement bloc.
Israeli Attorney General, Menachem Mazuz, said during a meeting with the Knesset Constitution Committee, that the police intend to stop the busses transporting rightwing pullout protestors who will be heading to Sderot, in order to bar them from participating in the Gush Katif protest.
Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz told settlement councils leaders that the army will not allow the settlers to carry their planned march to Gush Katif.
Israeli radio reported, however, that the Israeli Police said it will allow the settlers to protest against the disengagement in Ofakim, a town in the south of Israel near Sderot, if the councils provide the police with the number of protestors and the timeframe of the protest.ÂÂ
The Israel army and police decided to deploy some 30,000 soldiers and officers in the western Negev region and along the border with the Gaza Strip ahead of the rally, an Israeli source reported.
The army suspects that the Yesha Settlement Council’s is gradually losing control over the protests, and that the settlers are deciding many anti-pullout protests on a local level without referring to the Council.
