50,000 flock to Gaza settlements
Settlers and right-wingers gather in Gush Katif bloc to fortify settlements ahead of IDF decree to close off Gaza before planned withdrawal; settler leader says only way to stop pullout is 'through war'
GUSH KATIF, Gaza Strip - More than 50,000 settlers and right-wingers flocked to Gaza on Thursday, Israel’s Independence Day, after their leaders called for supporters to fortify Jewish settlements with their bodies ahead of a planned Israeli withdrawal from the territory.
Settler officials said more supporters were expected to arrive to Gush Katif, Gaza's largest settlement bloc, and would reside in family homes or caravans as they wait for the "Day of the Order" declared by the army that would effectively designate the area a closed military zone to stop right-wingers from reaches the areas in a bid to foil the pullout.
About 8,500 settlers live in heavily guarded encaves in Gaza among some 1.3 Palestinians. Staunch right-wingers believe the land to be their biblical birthright and have vowed to resist the withdrawal, set for this summer, with some threatening to violence.
"The time for talking has ended," said right-wing activist leader Baruch Marzel. "The only way to decide is through war. Those who stand before us are calling up army reserves as though this were a war, and are using conventional weapons. We shouldn't turn our cheek to them."
Settlers gathered in the settlement of Neve Dekalim to participate in Independence Day festivities and leaders said it would not be the last time they would celebrate the birth of the Jewish state in Gaza.
"Independence day in itself means being independent and free," said Ganei Tal resident Ranana Mermlestein. "They will be many more celebrated in Gush Katif. I trust in God and all the people who have come here today to support us. Everybody tells us 'Next year we will be with you.'"
New synagogue opens
Among the events celebrating the 57th anniversary of the Jewish state, settlers also inaugurated a new synagogue in the Kfar Darom settlement despite Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s plan to dismantle all Jewish structures in all 21 settlements in Gaza and four of the 120 in the West Bank.
Settlers have slammed proposals to demolish the settlements, which Sharon has said could be necessary to prevent looting by Palestinians after the pullout.
“It is a dream come true, to see this grand temple,” said settler Aryeh Yitzhaki in Kfar Darom, located in the southern Gaza settlement bloc of Gush Katif. “I hope this place will be of use for the residents forever. There is no feeling this is the last Independence Day (here).”
Settlers preparing for battle
Yitzhaki said about 274 families had reached the area over the past month.
“The people who arrived here did not come to say goodbye to Gush Katif, but to familiarize themselves with the area ahead of the moment of truth,” Yitzhaki said.
Pamphlets distributed at the inauguration and at other Independence Day celebrations in Gaza called on Israelis to make their way to the territory to “stop Sharon’s plan in a democratic and non-violent way.”
Settler leaders said supporters who would arrive to try to stop the evacuation would be housed in family homes or in caravans inside the enclaves, as well as tents and mobile structures.
They also called for donations of dry and canned food, water bottles and furniture.
