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| Israel-Palestine |
| Israel Plans To Change Military For Withdrawal |
| 2005-01-04 |
| Israel's government was considering major changes in the military to facilitate a withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and northern West Bank in 2005. Officials said the changes could end more than 15 years of rising influence by Orthodox Jews and Israeli residents of the West Bank and Gaza Strip in the military. The measures could also reduce the recruitment of Orthodox youngsters into elite combat units. Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz has examined a series of recommendations to facilitate the withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and northern West Bank and the expulsion of about 10,000 Israeli residents from these areas in September 2005. The recommendations envisioned the prospect of massive resistance within the army, particularly from Orthodox Jewish officers and soldiers. "The prime minister said that in approximately two weeks, the Cabinet will hear the position of the security establishment on this issue and by then the decision-making process will have been formulated," a Cabinet communique said on Sunday. |
| Posted by:Fred |