Palestinians slam Israel threat to re-occupy parts of Gaza
AFP
Date: 05-30-05
GAZA CITY (AFP) - Palestinian officials and the radical Hamas faction slammed an threat from Israel to reoccupy parts of the Gaza Strip ahead of its planned withdrawal from the territory this summer.
On Sunday, a senior official threatened that Israel would re-occupy parts of Gaza and send troops into Palestinian cities if Palestinian security forces prove unable or unwilling to prevent attacks on Israeli soldiers during the pullout.
"We need to take preventative measures to make the withdrawal possible. One of those measures could see us enter and occupy Khan Yunis to secure the pullout," said Giora Eiland, the head of Israel's National Security Council.
The central town of Khan Yunis is adjacent to Gush Katif, the largest Jewish settlement bloc in the Gaza Strip.
But chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat appealed to the Jewish state to do everything in its power to coordinate the planned pullout with the Palestinian Authority, describing as useless the "language of threats".
"We hope Israel will focus on coordinating the withdrawal with the Palestinian side and to do everything possible to ensure the Gaza withdrawal is peaceful without resorting to threats," he told AFP.
Israel is due to start pulling out its troops and evacuating some 8,000 settlers from the Gaza Strip in August.
"This threat is ridiculous and shows how unbalanced Israel is," said Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri.
"We have said several times that the occupation can end if there is a truce, but with no ceasefire before the withdrawal, everything will change," he said.
Palestinian factions warned Monday that the de-facto truce in place since late January was in jeopardy after Israel launched an aerial strike against militants in the Gaza Strip preparing to fire off rocket launchers.
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