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Gaza settlers surrender weapons ahead of pullout
GANEI TAL, Gaza Strip - A group of Jewish settlers surrendered their guns to the Israeli army in occupied Gaza on Monday, part of a weapons handover aimed at minimising the risk of armed clashes during a planned Israeli pullout.In Ganei Tal, a religious farming community in the Jewish settlement bloc of Gush Katif, settlers handed a local security official more than 20 assault rifles used for guard duty. An orange ribbon was wrapped around each weapon, marking the symbolic colour of the settlersâ protest against Israelâs planned evacuation beginning Aug. 17 from land they see as a biblical birthright. Effi Slotsky, 55, was bitter as he turned in his gun. âWe do not want to give the authorities any room for confrontation,â he said. âI have no confidence in the establishment, and the pullout will bring a disaster for the country. But it is up to them (the Israeli army) to protect us now.â Personal handguns owned by Ganei Tal settlers have yet to be collected. Military sources said the army was discussing a larger-scale collection of settler weapons before Israel evacuates all 21 Gaza settlements and four of 120 in the West Bank in a plan billed as âdisengagementâ from conflict with the Palestinians. Ami Shaked, head of security in the Gush Katif bloc, said efforts were being made to collect many of the hundreds of handguns still held by the 8,500 Gaza settlers who live among 1.4 million Palestinians. âThe idea is to collect all the weapons. I hope all firearms will be handed over to the authorities,â Shaked said.
Posted by: Steve White 2005-08-09 |
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