Cabinet votes 17-5 in favor of evacuating settlements
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/542573.html
By Aluf Benn, Mazal Mualem and Amos Harel, Haaretz Correspondents, and Reuters

The cabinet voted 17-5 Sunday in favor of evacuating settlements in the Gaza
Strip and northern West Bank, and hours later, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon
signed
an evacuation order making it illegal for any Israelis to remain in these areas
after mid-July.



"It has been determined that the date of the evacuation is July 20," said a
statement from the Prime Minister's Office.

Speaking later Sunday before American Jewish leaders in Jerusalem, Sharon said,
"Israel has taken a step that will be decisive for its future ... the right one
to ensure Israel's future as a Jewish and democratic state."

He said it proved Israel's readiness to take "painful steps ... to make peace."
Sharon also said the decision to support disengagement was the most difficult
decision he had ever made.

Cabinet ministers Benjamin Netanyahu, Natan Sharansky, Danny Naveh, Tzachi
Hanegbi, and Yisrael Katz voted against the disengagement proposal.

Shortly after the disengagement vote, the government overwhelmingly approved a
decision to extend the West Bank separation fence. The decision was passed by
20-1, with one abstention.

The route, which has been changed in accordance with High Court of Justice
rulings, will bring the fence closer to the Green Line than originally planned
in
many areas.

It will also take in Ma'aleh Adumim, east of Jerusalem, and the major settlement
bloc of Gush Etzion.

Following the cabinet vote on the disengagement, Justice Minister Tzipi Livni
told Army Radio that, "The decision is historic and we are on the cusp of a very
difficult period. Today we decided to evacuate people from their homes."

Abbas: Withdrawal will not take place under fire
Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas assured Israelis in an interview
with the German news magazine Der Spiegel that the evacuation will not take
place
under fire.

"The people will throw flowers on the Israelis, not stones," said Abbas.

Abbas added he understands Israel's security needs. "They are people like us.
They want to live in peace and security within their borders."

Meanwhile, Hamas claimed victory, calling the decision to dismantle settlements
the "fruit of Palestinian resistance," Reuters reported.

New route puts 7 percent of West Bank on Israeli side
The changes to the fence route, which are in the area between the West Bank
settlement of Elkana and the Judean Desert, leave some seven percent of the West
Bank, and some 10,000 Palestinians, on the Israeli side.

Sharon said at the start of Sunday's session that the new fence route combines
Israel's security needs with its judicial decisions.

Government sources said the U.S. administration has accepted the new route of
the
separation fence.

But Shin Bet chief Avi Dichter warned during the cabinet debate that Highway
443,
which runs from Jerusalem to Modi'in, could turn into a "shooting range."

Dichter told the cabinet the new fence route will not protect the highway from
gunfire directed at it from the ridges along either side, and that the fence
route in the area should follow the original route rejected by the High Court.

The cabinet decided that the issue will be brought to a special
security-political cabinet discussion.

Yahad leader Yossi Beilin also objected to the new fence route, and called
Sunday
on Labor Party ministers to vote against it, calling it a slap in the face to
the
Palestinian Authority.

Palestinian cabinet minister Saeb Erekat said the go-ahead for the final segment
of Israel's barrier, expected to cut off up to seven percent of the West Bank in
all, "will undermine efforts being exerted to revive the peace process."

"Israel is creating facts on the ground in the West Bank," said Palestinian
legislator Hanan Ashrawi. "Sharon wants payback in the West Bank for the
disengagement from Gaza, particularly Jerusalem."

Olmert: No reason for Netanyahu to vote 'no'
Vice Prime Minister Ehud Olmert criticized Netanyahu on Sunday for deciding to
vote against the pullout bill, saying the finance minister's complaint about the
failure to hold a national referendum was not sufficient justification for a
"no"
vote.

The Knesset voted last week by a 72-26 margin against a bill that would have
conditioned implementation of the pullout on a referendum.

Senior Likud sources said Saturday that Netanyahu's decision to oppose the plan
was motivated by political considerations. He would like to distinguish himself
from Sharon ideologically, gain favor with the right and the Likud rebels and,
of
course, with the Likud's central committee, which will eventually provide the
electoral and ideological basis for his candidacy for the premiership, they
said.

Netanyahu took a calculated risk, as he knew his vote was not needed for the
plan's approval.

The phased withdrawal timetable made it possible for Education Minister Limor
Livnat to lend her support to the plan.

Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom explained his vote in favor by saying that "this
is a historic moment, and even if there is a small chance for peace, we owe it
to
our children and grandchildren." He said the arena had changed since he
supported
the call for a referendum nine months ago. "We must embrace the settlers in this
difficult moment," he added. "They are our pioneers.










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