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Israel Threatens to Send Large Number of Troops Into Gaza
Israel's defense minister warned yesterday that he would send large forces into Palestinian neighborhoods if Israeli troops and settlers come under fire during the withdrawal from the Gaza Strip this summer. The military faces twin threats during the pullout — from extremist settlers and Palestinian militants. Settlers want to stop the evacuation of all 21 settlements from Gaza and four from the West Bank, while militants want to show that they are driving the Israelis out by force.Also yesterday, Israeli officials said they might leave houses in Gaza settlements intact, reversing an earlier tendency to tear them down to spare the settlers the vision of Palestinians taking them over. Palestinian attacks during the Gaza withdrawal "would require us to go into Palestinian Authority territory with very, very large forces to those places which overlook the areas to be evacuated," Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz said. Posted by: Fred 2005-03-01 |
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