OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, 6 July 2004 — A rise in Jewish radicalism over Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s Gaza pullout plan has stirred fears of ultranationalist violence and possibly even an attempt to kill him, security sources said yesterday.
The always-steely bodyguard around Sharon has been further toughened in recent months to stop any assassin, such as the one who shot dead Premier Yitzhak Rabin nine years ago in an attempt to halt peace talks with the Palestinians, they said.
But, the sources said, there has been no specific information pointing to any attempt against Sharon’s life.
Senior officials are to meet this week to look at legal means to curb potentially inflammatory statements from ultranationalists. “It starts with incitement and then it moves on to threats. With Rabin it started in the same way and you never know how it will end,” said one security source.
Once the settlers’ champion, Sharon aims to uproot all 21 Jewish communities from Gaza by the end of next year and four of 120 settlements in the West Bank as part of a plan to “disengage” from years of conflict with the Palestinians.
Polls show most Israelis back the initiative to shift the 7,500 Jews who live in Gaza alongside 1.3 million Palestinians. But settlers and religious radicals oppose ceding any land that Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war, seeing it as part of a “ heritage bestowed by God.” They also reject Sharon’s plan, arguing that it is a reward for “Palestinian terror.”
The head of the Shin Bet internal security agency, Avi Dichter, told a Cabinet meeting on Sunday he was concerned at rising right-wing extremism and worried about prospects of an escalation in violence.
The Shin Bet has warned of the danger from Jewish militants on several occasions since Rabin’s assassination, but it has scored few successes in uncovering underground groups.
“As a result of our unfortunate experience, it would be worth taking precautions,” cabinet member Gideon Ezra, a former deputy chief of the Shin Bet, told Israel Radio. He said that even if there was “some exaggeration” of the risks, Israelis “should be cautious and alert others.” Pro-settler rabbis, though, called on the Shin Bet to show solid evidence for its warning. Israel’s attorney-general is due to meet Dichter and other security officials this week to discuss legal ways to prevent incitement. A Jerusalem rabbi drew criticism last week for saying that anyone handing over part of Israel to a non-Jew could be killed under a historic law of “Rodef” — a license to kill someone who intends to kill someone else.
