Israel approves Gaza pullout as Netanyahu quits

JERUSALEM - The Israeli cabinet on Sunday approved the evacuation of a first batch of Gaza Strip settlements despite the shock resignation of Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the controversial pullout. The resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s main rival was a political bombshell that ratcheted up further tension amid already intense security concerns 10 days before the evacuation.

“The moment of truth has come. I cannot sanction a decision which threatens state security,” the 55-year-old Netanyahu said in his resignation letter, excerpts of which were distributed to the press.

Netanyahu, Sharon’s main rival for the leadership of the right-wing Likud party had made no secret of his opposition to the pullout, the first time that Israel is withdrawing from occupied Palestinian land.

The Tel Aviv stock exchange instantly slumped upon the announcement and the resignation of what is arguably Israel’s second most influential politician risked sparking similar moves from disgruntled right-wingers.

Critics of the pullout in the fractious cabinet hoped the Likud stalwart’s shock resignation could cause the collapse of the government before the start of the disengagement plan.

But the evacuations of the three most isolated settlements in the Gaza Strip Netzarim, Kfar Darom and Morag nevertheless easily won cabinet approval, official sources said.

During the meeting, Sharon ordered security chiefs to step up their investigation into the killing of four Arab Israelis by a Jewish extremist opposed to the pullout, due to begin on August 17.

The shootings have compounded fears that radicals are plotting attacks, such as the assassination of the prime minister or against the Al-Aqsa mosque the third-holiest site in Islam, in a bid to torpedo the withdrawal.

“I appeal to all those involved in the investigation... to do whatever is necessary to hasten the investigation and to take all necessary steps so that such events do not recur,” Sharon told the cabinet meeting.

The lengthy meeting saw ministers discuss measures to curb Jewish extremism and racism after the Shfaram shooting, which Sharon condemned as the work of “a bloodthirsty Jewish terrorist”.

A Sharon aide had said that Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz was to recommend that extremists be put in potentially indefinite administrative detention to limit the chance of an attack.

Military commanders, intelligence agents, police and disengagement officials briefed ministers on security and preparations for rehousing the settlers after all Gaza’s 21 settlements are dismantled.

A Sharon aide said the cabinet was also to discuss an agreement in principle with Egypt to deploy 750 Egyptian guards along the Philadelphi corridor on the border with Gaza border after Israeli troops vacate the sector.

The order in which the settlements will pass for cabinet approval will not necessarily be the pullout order, which is to be kept secret until the last moment for security reasons.

Between 60 and 70 percent of the Jewish settlers slated for evacuation from Gaza Strip and four isolated enclaves in the northern West Bank will obey orders to leave their homes, Mofaz has told local media.

Few settlers have actually relocated ahead of the evacuation deadline but Mofaz predicted a majority would rush to leave between August 15-17 before being forcibly removed.

The threat of Jewish extremism has risen to the fore since the shooting in Shfaram, but has also sparked fears it could trigger retaliatory unrest by Israeli Arabs and especially Palestinian militants.

Two Israelis, including a 10-year-old boy, were wounded on Sunday in a drive-by shooting attack near the West Bank city of Ramallah claimed by the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades.

The militant group loosely affiliated to Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas’ Fatah said the attack was perpetrated in response to the Shfaram rampage, the worst anti-Arab attack by a Jewish extremist in more than a decade.