|
Reprinted with permission from Haaretz © http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/572050.html The Israeli police have mapped all of the homes in settlements slated to be evacuated during the disengagement, collecting intelligence information on settlers and the level of danger they could pose during the evacuation. The police are expected to shoulder the major burden of physically evacuating settlers from their homes. According to Major General Berty Ohayon, head of the police Operations Branch, "Police are studying every home in the settlements, who lives in it, how many children, what kind of car the family owns, and what are the special circumstances of everyone in the family, such as: are there soldiers or pets in the home, or if the family in question is bereaved. "Files will be ready for use in the field for each house that will be evacuated in order to ensure we are ready." Under no circumstances will the police break into a home without knowing its traits, Ohayon added. Livni: Number of settlers to dictate Nitzanim planThe scope of the plan to resettle Gush Katif evacuees in the area between Ashdod and Ashkelon will depend on how many settlers sign onto the plan, Justice Minister Tzipi Livni said Tuesday after meeting with settler representatives late Monday night. Livni and the director general of the Prime Minister's Office, Ilan Cohen, proposed a "modular" plan to the settlers in which up to four new settlements, along with the expansion of Moshav Nitzan by 300-500 houses, would be established in the Nitzanim area. But the number of new settlements and whether they will be independent or part of north Ashkelon would be determined by the "critical mass" of settlers who join the plan. Usually, at least 10,000 residents are required to establish a regional council, however, in certain cases, 5,000 residents is sufficient. An estimated 1,500 households make up the Gush Katif settlements. Livni said Tuesday that the government would not insist on the typical number required for municipality status, "but there won't be a separate municipality for 200 families." Deputy Attorney General Michael Balas and settler group representatives are to draft a form letter that settlers must sign to join the plan. The sides began formulating the letter on Tuesday night, with the goal of bringing in as many settlers as possible by Tuesday, when the government must make its final decision. The letter is being drafted in a way that will give the state a reasonable level of certainty over how many people will accept the plan. This will enable the government to determine the amount of money needed to advance the plan. "We can't send tractors out until we know how many people are involved," a senior government source said. The chairman of the legal forum representing the settlers, Yitzhak Miron, gave details of what has and has not been agreed upon with Livni to the Gaza Coast Regional Council on Tuesday. The council plans to assess the situation Wednesday in order to decide whether to proceed with the plan. However, the settlers said they do not intend to meet the May 10 deadline, which was set in a previous session of the National Planning and Construction Commission. The commission is the government body authorized to determine whether a specific area is designated for settlement. If the settlers give the green light, the government would send the plan to the commission. Meanwhile, an 11-member panel of High Court justices plans to issue a ruling soon on a dozen petitions filed against the evacuation-compensation law. The justices held a marathon session Tuesday in which it heard all 12 petitions, saying it would issue a ruling based "on the head as well as the heart." The justices also will consider visiting Gush Katif, as requested by some of the petitioners. But they made it clear that they would not go if they are greeted with the same hostility that Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz received when he visited the settlement bloc last month. |
PRINT 
0