'Ghost town' Sderot comes alive
Residents of Sderot prepare to receive thousands of anti-pullout protesters expected to head into town for a mass rally before embarking on a second attempted march towards the Gush Katif settlement bloc in Gaza; Internal Security Minister says police ready and able to stop infiltrations into territory
SDEROT – The smell of coffee and couscous filled the air as the town of Sderot came to life on Tuesday when right-wingers began flocking to the area, a frequent scene of Palestinian rocket attacks, to prepare for a massive rally against Israel's pullout plan.
Residents of the town began cooking and preparing lodging for the thousands of disengagement opponants who are expected to participate in a demonstration against Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s plan to evacuate all 21 settlements in Gaza and four of the 120 in the West Bank.
The lower-class development town has in recent months come under frequent rocket attacks by Gaza terrorists and has become a symbol for Israeli defiance towards the disengagement, which rightists say would reward Palestinian terror.
The attacks, some of which have been deadly, have deterred visitors from reaching the area, reducing it to a proverbial ghost town in recent months. But the city came alive on Tuesday as more and more protesters streamed in to prepare for the protest.
Anti-pullout protesters bask in the shade (Photo by Zafrir Aviyov)
Cafe managers said they never saw their shops so crowded.
"Lately, everything has been dead," said one cafe manager. "What is happening now is unbelievable. Reporters, military personnel and police officers and rally participants are sitting here, eating and drinking. We business owners hope they will stay here for many days, because we've never had anything like this before."
March to Gaza
After the rally, protesters plan to spend the night in the city of Ofakim and later march to the Gaza settlement bloc of Gush Katif in a bid to fortify it ahead of the planned withdrawal, despite police objections.
Such a move would mark the second organized attempt by rtight-wingers to reach Gush Katif since a military closure was imposed on the territory last month to stop ultranationalists from flocking to it ahead of the planned withdrawal.
Police sit in the shade before the rally (Photo by Zafrir Aviyov)
Police officials said settler leaders, including Yesha Council head Benzi Lieberman, had agreed to disperse and not try to flock to Gaza after spending the night in Ofakim. Lieberman denies any such deal was made.
Police have already deployed hundreds of officers in southern Israel and Internal Security Minister Gideon Ezra said they were prepared to stop possible infiltrations into Gaza.
“I believe Yesha will stand by its word that head toward Ofakim after two hours and that will be the end of it,” he said. “But we are not only counting on Yesha’s (promises) and we are preparing to stop any attempt to reach the Kissufim junction or Gush Katif.”
Jewish opponents of the pullout, which is set to begin on August 17, claim the West Bank and Gaza as their biblical birthright and say any Israeli withdrawal from the territories will reward Palestinian terrorism.
Sderot decorated in orange
Sderot residents began preparing for the mass protest on Monday, setting up a sound stage, amplifiers and portable toilets. On Tuesday morning, the smell of cooking couscous was in the air as they prepared food and lodging for the demonstrators.
"Overall, our cooperation with the police is very good," said protest organizer Kinneret Rosenfeld. "The atmosphere here is wonderful, people are starting to flow inside the town."
"Sderot has been decorated in orange," she said, referring to the official color of anti-pullout protesters.
Many residents of the town have already opened up their doors to protesters, offering them coffee and biscuits and meals.
"We immediately thought to prepare food for them," said Sderot resident Rachel Amos. "On Tuesday, it's customary to cook couscous, so we are sitting here and making mountains of it."
Elad Deutch, a protester from Jerusalem, said he was stunned and excited by the hospitality of the residents.
"It's amazing how we were received," he said. "We arrived here in the morning because we thought there would be traffic and roadblocks and we will remain here for as much time as needed."
Jerusalem resident Neta Farash also said she was surprised by the warm welcome.
"Everywhere we go, people ask us if we need anything, if everything is alright," she said. "Many households invited us for coffee."
- Diana Bahur-Nir, Hanan Greenberg and Efrat Weiss contributed to this report
