WEST
BANK, August 26, 2005 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) –
Official figures indicated Friday, August 26, that the number of
Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank has jumped over the past
year, boosting Israel's efforts to cement its hold over the
Palestinian territory.
This
coincided with reports that Israel has drafted a plan to keep control
over the Gaza borders following its withdrawal from the impoverished
area.
Israeli
Interior Ministry spokesman Gilad Heiman said the number of Jewish
settlers in the West Bank has increased by 12,800 from June 2004 to
June 2005, the Israeli daily Haaretz reported Friday.
He
attributed the increase to new births and influx of Jewish immigrants
into the area. But he could not give a breakdown for each figures.
"When
you factor in the removal of settlers and take into account about
10,000 newcomers, mainly ultra-Orthodox Jews, you arrive at a figure
of about 246,000 settlers. This is correct as of June 2005."
Heiman
said the population of Maale Adumim, the largest Jewish settlement in
the West Bank, grew by 1,000 settlers.
Earlier
this week, Israel issued confiscation orders to seize four
Palestinian-owned tracts of land around Maale Adumim to link the
settlement to occupied Al-Quds (East Jerusalem).
Israeli
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has made no secret of his intention to
cement control over parts of the occupied West Bank, especially on the
outskirts of Al-Quds, in exchange for the Gaza withdrawal.
Palestinians
have repeatedly vocalized fears that Sharon devised the Gaza plan as a
ruse to cement Israel's hold on most of the occupied West Bank, where
246,000 settlers live among 2.4 million Palestinians.
Gaza
Borders
In
another development, Israel has drafted a plan to take hold of the
Gaza borders following its pullout, reported Agence France Presse
(AFP).
The
plan, backed by a ministerial commission, stipulates transferring the
Rafah crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt further south, where
the Egyptian, Gazan and Israeli borders meet.
This
would allow Israel to continue to control the passage of goods
entering Gaza, conduct security checks and exercise customs control
over products.
A
Sharon aide threatened that Israel would stop collecting customs
duties for the Palestinians, which could cause them millions of
dollars a year, if the Palestinians insist on direct passage between
Egypt and Gaza.
Israel
this week completed the evacuation of all 21 Jewish settlements in the
Gaza Strip and four isolated enclaves in the West Bank.
Condemnation
 |
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" It is impossible to accept that the Rafah border will still be under Israeli control," Erakat said.
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The
Israeli plan was immediately slammed by the Palestinian Authority,
seeking full sovereignty over the impoverished area.
"We
reject this statement completely. It is impossible to accept that the
Rafah border will still be under Israeli control," chief
Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat told AFP.
"We
are in contact with the American administration and the quartet to
oblige Israel to leave Rafah and put in their place a third
party," he added, referring to the US, UN, the EU and Russia, the
sponsors of the roadmap peace blueprint.
Palestinians
believe the Gaza Strip would become a big prison unless Israel agrees
to give the PA control over border crossings, open a "safe
passage" into the West Bank and allow a new harbor and the
reopening of Gaza airport.
Following
talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on July 23, US
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Washington wants a freedom of
movement in the Strip following the Israeli pullout.
