Israeli troops scuffled with settlers to bulldoze a Jewish outpost in the West Bank yesterday, the first of a handful slated for destruction before Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon visits Washington.
The removal of unauthorized settlements, long demanded by the US under a stalled peace plan, would go some way to please Israel's main ally as Sharon seeks support for a go-it-alone pullout from the Gaza Strip.
PHOTO: EPA
Palestinians dismissed the removal of uninhabited Hazon David as just a public-relations exercise.
Soldiers rushed in before dawn to tear down the outpost near the West Bank city of Hebron.
Settlers repeatedly broke through a police cordon, grappling with troops and trying to obstruct an army bulldozer as it crushed the flimsy synagogue of concrete blocks and canvas.
Its destruction enraged settlers already fuming at the plan by their one-time champion Sharon to uproot Jews from Gaza.
"In our eyes this is the desecration of a holy site. It calls for national mourning," said settler leader Benny Katzover. "We will do everything to rebuild."
Some 240,000 Jewish settlers live in the West Bank and Gaza Strip alongside 3.5 million Palestinians. Settlements are widely seen as illegal by the international community, though Israel disputes this.
Palestinian minister Saeb Erekat dismissed the removal of Hazon David as cosmetic.
"Settlement activity goes on and the war goes on," he said.
Seeking to "disengage" from the Palestinians because of what he calls the absence of a negotiating partner, Sharon has proposed an Israeli pullout from the Gaza Strip and a few pockets of the West Bank.
Palestinians would welcome any withdrawal but fear Israel would strengthen its grip on large chunks of the West Bank and deprive them of a viable state.
Sharon is due to meet US President George W. Bush later this month to seek vital support for the Gaza pullout and is pushing ahead with the plan despite a bribery probe that could bring him down.
Meanwhile, Israeli soldiers killed at least two Palestinians suspected of attempting to attack an army base in the Gaza Strip yesterday, military sources said.
Soldiers opened fire at three men seen crawling towards their base near the Gush Katif settlement bloc in southern Gaza.
POLLS
Hoping to silence internal criticism, 76-year-old Sharon agreed on Tuesday to put his initiative to a binding vote by his right-wing Likud party.
Polls show party members are increasingly willing to part with isolated, hard-to-defend Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip.
Polls published in the Yedioth Ahronoth and Maariv newspapers found that 51 percent of right-wing Likud members supported Sharon's unilateral Gaza Strip withdrawal plan and between 36 and 39 percent opposed it. The rest were undecided.
OPTIMISTIC: A Philippine Air Force spokeswoman said the military believed the crew were safe and were hopeful that they and the jet would be recovered A Philippine Air Force FA-50 jet and its two-person crew are missing after flying in support of ground forces fighting communist rebels in the southern Mindanao region, a military official said yesterday. Philippine Air Force spokeswoman Colonel Consuelo Castillo said the jet was flying “over land” on the way to its target area when it went missing during a “tactical night operation in support of our ground troops.” While she declined to provide mission specifics, Philippine Army spokesman Colonel Louie Dema-ala confirmed that the missing FA-50 was part of a squadron sent “to provide air support” to troops fighting communist rebels in
PROBE: Last week, Romanian prosecutors launched a criminal investigation against presidential candidate Calin Georgescu accusing him of supporting fascist groups Tens of thousands of protesters gathered in Romania’s capital on Saturday in the latest anti-government demonstration by far-right groups after a top court canceled a presidential election in the EU country last year. Protesters converged in front of the government building in Bucharest, waving Romania’s tricolor flags and chanting slogans such as “down with the government” and “thieves.” Many expressed support for Calin Georgescu, who emerged as the frontrunner in December’s canceled election, and demanded they be resumed from the second round. George Simion, the leader of the far-right Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR), which organized the protest,
ECONOMIC DISTORTION? The US commerce secretary’s remarks echoed Elon Musk’s arguments that spending by the government does not create value for the economy US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on Sunday said that government spending could be separated from GDP reports, in response to questions about whether the spending cuts pushed by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency could possibly cause an economic downturn. “You know that governments historically have messed with GDP,” Lutnick said on Fox News Channel’s Sunday Morning Futures. “They count government spending as part of GDP. So I’m going to separate those two and make it transparent.” Doing so could potentially complicate or distort a fundamental measure of the US economy’s health. Government spending is traditionally included in the GDP because
Hundreds of people in rainbow colors gathered on Saturday in South Africa’s tourist magnet Cape Town to honor the world’s first openly gay imam, who was killed last month. Muhsin Hendricks, who ran a mosque for marginalized Muslims, was shot dead last month near the southern city of Gqeberha. “I was heartbroken. I think it’s sad especially how far we’ve come, considering how progressive South Africa has been,” attendee Keisha Jensen said. Led by motorcycle riders, the mostly young crowd walked through the streets of the coastal city, some waving placards emblazoned with Hendricks’s image and reading: “#JUSTICEFORMUHSIN.” No arrest
RSS