JERUSALEM, 13 September 2004 — Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon accused members of far-right groups yesterday of trying to incite civil war over his plan to withdraw from the occupied Gaza Strip and called for measures to curb such groups. Settler leaders themselves warned last week that quitting Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip and a fragment of the West Bank could spark civil war, though polls show the plan is backed by most Israelis.
Hard-liners have urged security forces to disobey orders to remove settlements from land that Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war, under the plan designed for “disengagement” from years of conflict with the Palestinians. Sharon said at yesterday’s Cabinet meeting that the calls from far-rightists were: “in essence aimed at inciting civil war.”
“I call upon those of you in charge of security matters, to take all necessary steps,” he said. One option was so-called “administrative detention” — or detention without trial — which has been used against hundreds of Palestinians arrested during a four-year-old uprising, Justice Minister Yosef Lapid said.
“I hope we will not have to use it against settlers or against religious leaders. But we are reserving our right to do so if necessary,” Lapid told reporters. The prime minister, who once championed the settlements and still wants to keep the main West Bank settlement blocs, also took a swipe at some ministers from his own right-wing Likud party for not being supportive enough.
Sharon’s inner Cabinet is expected to discuss a law for carrying out the withdrawal plan later this week.
Settler supporters, including many Likud leaders, oppose giving up land and say Sharon’s plan would also “reward Palestinian terror”.
“Sharon is behaving like a dictator, he stomps on his citizens and then blames them for the situation,” said Yehoshua Mor-Yosef, spokesman for the Yesha settlers’ group.
“If this situation continues, that Sharon quashes democracy and continues with the disengagement, there is a danger of deteriorating to a situation where there will be a serious rift among the people.”
Meanwhile, Israel charged six Egyptian students yesterday with conspiring to abduct and kill Israeli soldiers in order to support a Palestinian uprising.
The Egyptians were arrested near the desert border two weeks ago after crossing into Israel illegally, armed with an airgun and 14 knives. They were aged between 21 and 25.
Prosecutors told the magistrate’s court in the southern Israeli town of Beersheba that the students plotted to kidnap Israel soldiers to use as bargaining chips for Palestinian prisoners.
