Palestinians plan for Israeli exit from Gaza
AFP
Date: 04-26-05
GAZA CITY (AFP) - The Palestinian Authority outlined plans to take immediate control of all land and property in the Gaza Strip vacated by Israeli settlers after their departure from the territory this summer.
Speaking after a meeting of his cabinet designed to prepare for this summer's historic pullout, prime minister Ahmed Qorei said the government would not allow anyone to profit personally .
"We are preparing both at the administrative and security levels to take control of the situation on the ground," Qorei told reporters.
The Palestinian Authority would "take control of all the land, and all issues concerning private property will be examined by a special tribunal."
Qorei also warned anyone tempted to try and buy a house directly from one of the 8,000 settlers that such a transaction would be considered illegal.
"Any purchase by Palestinians or a third party of lands to be evacuated or on which settlements are built will be considered illegal," he said.
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has predicted that the pullout, expected to take place over a four-week period starting in July or August, will be followed by widespread looting with the acquiescence of the Palestinian security services.
The Palestinians are determined to prove Sharon wrong, with one cabinet member revealing that several plans drawn up to deal with the aftermath of the withdrawal have already drawn up by ministerial commissions.
The pullout was originally conceived by Sharon as a unilateral move designed to relieve pressure for a more comprehensive pullout from the West Bank.
Since the death of his arch-enemy Yasser Arafat in November, Sharon has indicated a willingness to coordinate with the new Palestinian leadership.
His deputy prime minister Shimon Peres met Qorei last week to discuss aspects of the pullout, such as whether the homes of the 8,000 settlers should be razed or handed over intact.
In an interview published in Tuesday's Jerusalem Post, Israeli President Moshe Katsav said he would like to see the houses remain in one piece but he accused the Palestinians of playing games over the coordination.
Palestinian cabinet minister Mohammed Dahlan angered Sharon's government recently by suggesting that there would be no coordination unless Israel drops its plans to continue controlling the border between Gaza and Egypt.
"The Palestinians are playing with the (coordination) issue," Katsav said.
"If the Palestinian Authority is open to coordination, there will be coordination. If not, I know Ariel Sharon is determined to got through with it without coordination."
Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas himself has said that he is in favour of the pullout being coordinated and has vowed to ensure that it takes place in a calm atmosphere amid Israeli fears that militant groups will bombard the departing soldiers and settlers, and loot the settlers' old homes.
Israeli Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz said he believed Abbas, who is widely known as Abu Mazen, was a man to do business with.
However he said that he wanted to see more concrete results from Abbas's reform drive which saw him recently pension off the heads of the security services.
"We still have to give a chance to this process because Abu Mazen's intentions are heading in the right direction. But it is not enough -- we must see results," Mofaz told army radio.
While opinion polls show that the exit from Gaza enjoys the support of a clear majority of the Israeli public, the settlers feel they have been betrayed by the government and especially by Sharon who for years was seen as their champion.
Katsav also said the government owed the settlers an apology for encouraging them to move to Gaza in the first place.
"They didn't go there on their own but in accordance with government decisions," he said. "Now that the government is asking for their evacuation, I think the government should go ask their forgiveness."
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