Settlers ‘encouraged’ by meeting
Prime Minister Sharon, Gaza settler representatives meet Tuesday. Settlers ask for “fair solutions,” Sharon says he plans to salvage as much West Bank territory as possible
JERUSALEM - A group of settler representatives from Gush Katif met with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon Tuesday, in a bid to facilitate dialogue between the sides ahead of the upcoming pullout.
During the session, Sharon said he intends to salvage as much West Bank territory as possible.
“We’ll deal with the question of why my decision is right another time,” he said. “We must continue to settle the Negev, the Galille, and Jerusalem.”
Sharon also said he wishes to mend fences with the settlers.
The settlers said the meeting, which lasted about two hours, was “difficult,” but added that they left encouraged. The participants agreed to meet again in 10 days.
Among other matters, the parties discussed a new settler initiative, which calls for the relocation of Gaza evacuees to the Nitzanim area in the south of the country.
“If we are destined to be uprooted, the communities must be relocated to one site,” one settler representative said.
Participants also asked Sharon to set up a committee that would bypass the Disengagement Administration and examine all problems related to the withdrawal.
After the meeting, settlers said Sharon agreed to set up teams to deal with the various issues.
“The prime minister understood the matter wasn’t being handled properly,” one settler said.
The representatives asked that Disengagement Administration Head Yonatan Bassi not be present in Tuesday’s meeting, and threatened to walk out should he attend the session.
One settler said Bassi was treating Gaza residents “as if they were new immigrants who just arrived from Switzerland.”
Atmosphere in Gush Katif ‘difficult and sad’
At the opening of the session, the settlers told Sharon they feel he has deserted them at a particularly tough junction. Nonetheless, the representatives pledged to fight the pullout plan “within the confines of the law.”
However, the settlers also said the timetable they were presented with is problematic, and called for a new timetable and the establishment of joint work teams.
One participant, meanwhile, told Sharon the atmosphere in Gush Katif is “difficult and sad.” The man said his son, who is in the 12th grade, left school because of the crisis he is facing.
Another settler said his son left an IDF officer course because he felt unable to take part in settlement evacuation.
‘I hope Sharon understands us’
The settlers are hoping to open a communication channel with Sharon, representative Aharon Hazut said before the meeting.
“We want fair solutions for people who are expected to be uprooted from their homes,” he said. “I hope the prime minister understands us.”
