AP
Israeli Soldiers Urged to Disobey Order
Date: Thu, Sep 09, 2004
By JOSEF FEDERMAN, Associated Press Writer
JERUSALEM - A group of prominent Israeli hard-liners urged soldiers Thursday to disobey orders to dismantle Jewish settlements, widening the bitter divisions over Prime Minister Ariel Sharon (news - web sites)'s plan to withdraw from the Gaza Strip (news - web sites) and parts of the West Bank.
In new fighting, eight Palestinians, including a 9-year-old boy, were killed in a string of clashes in the West Bank and Gaza.
Meanwhile, Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz ordered a closure of the West Bank and Gaza Strip (news - web sites) during the upcoming Jewish holidays, preventing thousands of Palestinian workers from entering Israel.
A ministry spokeswoman said the order would go into effect Friday morning and last until early October. Military sources said humanitarian cases would still be permitted into the country.
Since fighting erupted four years ago, Israel has restricted the entry of Palestinians to varying degrees, imposing strict closures during holidays and other times of high alert. In April 2002, a Palestinian suicide bomber blew up a Passover gathering, killing 29 people.
The call to soldiers and other security forces to resist evacuating settlements appeared to signal a significant escalation in the debate over withdrawal.
Sharon says exiting Gaza, where 8,000 Jewish settlers live among 1.3 million Palestinians, will boost Israeli security. He hopes to complete the pullout next year.
But hard-liners, including members of his own Likud Party, have grown increasingly vocal in their opposition to the withdrawal.
The hard-liners accuse Sharon of caving in to Palestinian violence, and fear that the initial pullout will lead to further withdrawals from West Bank land.
The petition published Thursday in the Besheva weekly contained some of the harshest language yet against Sharon's plan.
It called the pullout a "crime against humanity" and urged security forces to disobey orders to evacuate settlements.
"We call public officials who are being asked to lay the groundwork for the ethnic cleansing of Jews from their homeland, and on all of the officers, troops and policemen, to listen to the voice of their conscience and not take part in acts that will sully them," it said.
The petition was signed by 185 people, including former lawmakers, academics military officers and retired officials. The newspaper is oriented toward a religious nationalist audience, including Israel's 240,000 settlers in the West Bank and Gaza, a Besheva spokesman said.
The Yesha Council, an umbrella group representing Jewish settlers, said it had no connection to the ad. Yesha spokesman Josh Hasten said the group continues to support only nonviolent and legal means of resistance.
Among the names on the petition were Ben Zion Netanyahu, father of ex-Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (news - web sites), and Yossi Ben Aharon, Netanyahu's bureau chief.
Associates of the hardline Netanyahu, who is currently finance minister, said he wasn't connected to the petition. Speaking on condition of anonymity, they said Netanyahu would go along with the pullout plan, despite his strong reservations.
Government officials declined to comment on the petition, saying only that they hope settlers will respect the law.
Officials at Israel's Shin Bet internal security service have expressed concerns in recent months that extremists might oppose the withdrawal with force.
Much of Thursday's fighting occurred in Gaza, which has experienced a surge in violence since Sharon announced his withdrawal plan.
Palestinian militants are eager to show that they are pushing Israel out of Gaza, while Israel wants to avoid any appearance of fleeing under fire.
In northern Gaza, Israeli tanks blocked major roads Thursday as troops tried to prevent the firing of homemade rockets from there at Israeli settlements.
On the outskirts of the sprawling Jebaliya refugee camp, one gunman was killed and three were wounded when an Israeli attack helicopter fired two missiles.
Later Thursday, soldiers fired from a tank-mounted machine gun toward a group of Palestinians in the area, including gunmen, stone throwers and bystanders, witnesses said.
Three Palestinians, including a 9-year-old boy, were killed by large-caliber bullets, doctors said. The army said it was unaware of the incident.
Palestinian medics said a 25-year-old man was killed by machine-gun fire. The army said it fired at a vehicle traveling toward troops on an unauthorized road.
Troops also entered the West Bank town of Jericho, exchanging fire with three Palestinians. One gunman was killed and two were wounded, the army said.
Thousands of people, including gunmen, participated in a funeral procession in a refugee camp near Ramallah.
During the procession, the dead man's 4-year-old son was repeatedly thrust onto the corpse being carried aloft on a stretcher. The child was clearly terrified, screaming amid the loud bursts of gunfire.
After the funeral, an angry crowd surrounded an army jeep and threw stones at it. The jeep sped off, running over and killing a 17-year-old Palestinian, witnesses said. The army confirmed the jeep hit someone.
An eighth Palestinian was killed near the Israeli settlement bloc of Gush Katif in Gaza early Thursday. The army said the unarmed man had walked into an unauthorized area.
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