[Jerusalem Post] Yaakov Katz - Now that the Israel cabinet has defined Gaza as "hostile territory," the IDF is working on a proposal for a "complete disengagement" - involving the closure of all border crossings with Israel and the transfer of all responsibility over the Palestinian territory to Egypt. While Israel removed its military positions and settlements from Gaza in 2005, it has maintained a certain level of responsibility for the Palestinian population there, including coordinating the activities of humanitarian organizations such as UNRWA, the World Bank and the International Committee of the Red Cross. According to the proposal, Israel would completely disconnect from Gaza by closing the Erez, Karni, Sufa and Kerem Shalom crossings and directing humanitarian organizations to work with Egypt. "The idea is to finalize what was started with the 2005 disengagement," explained a senior defense official. Israel plans to begin immediately restricting the amount of fuel it allows to enter Gaza. Diesel will be allowed in to fuel ambulances, sewage pumps, generators and garbage trucks, but gasoline will be restricted.
2007-09-21 01:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive