[94]. [46] It was also announced that in the area evacuated in the West Bank the IDF planned to transfer all control (excluding building permits and anti-terrorism) to the PNA – the area will remain "Area C" (full Israeli control) de jure, but "Area A" (full PNA control) de facto. The total cost of the compensation package as adopted by the Knesset was 3.8 billion NIS (approximately $870 million). Residents and their supporters strung up barbed wire fences around the area, and security forces cut their way in. The sewage-treatment plants aren’t working properly, the result of Israel’s decade-long blockade of Gaza, decaying infrastructure and electricity shortages. On September 7, the IDF announced that it planned to advance its full withdrawal from the Gaza Strip to September 12, pending cabinet approval. Bar Ilan/Shmuel Hanavi Junction in Jerusalem, Golumb St. corner of Begin Blvd in Jerusalem, The political approach, owing much to existing right-wing ideology, claims that the areas to be evacuated constitute Israeli territory as legitimately as, The military approach says that the plan is disastrous to Israeli security – not only will prevention of, This page was last edited on 11 January 2021, at 11:45. It is a genious plan of Sharon that few picked it up at the initiation. By July 2014, eleven towns for the evacuees had been completed with the expellees joining ten additional towns. All of the bodies were removed by special teams of soldiers supervised by the Military Rabbinate and reburied in locations of their families' choosing. On September 20, the IDF temporarily entered the northern Gaza Strip, constructing a buffer zone parallel to the border near Beit Hanoun before pulling out. 271 views On August 10, 2005, in response to calls from Jewish religious leaders, including former Chief Rabbis Avraham Shapira, Ovadia Yosef, and Mordechai Eliyahu, between 70,000 (police estimate) and 250,000 (organizers' estimate) Jews gathered for a rally centered at the Western Wall in prayer to ask that the planned disengagement be cancelled. According to Haaretz, this is the first time that a Muslim cleric has forbidden shooting at Israeli forces. "It is out of strength and not weakness that we are taking this step", repeating his argument that the disengagement plan has given Israel the diplomatic initiative. The IDF also pulled out its forces in the Gaza Strip, and had withdrawn 95% of its military equipment by September 1. International bodies, and pressure from James Wolfensohn, Middle East envoy of the Quartet, who gave $500,000 of his own money, offered incentives for the rest to be left to the Palestinians of Gaza. "Instead of hope, the Palestinians saw that they were put back in prison," he concluded. In 2010 a bill was introduced in the Knesset providing a basic pension to business owners whose businesses collapsed.[82][83][84]. They can’t even leave to visit their relatives in the West Bank, let alone in Israel. The average salary among evacuees was lower than the general average, as compared to above average before the disengagement. The Mufti was feared and discredited by many Arab League leaders. Joshua devoted them to destruction, along with their cities. Israel’s Iron Dome Aerial Defense System intercepted 240 of them. Most families were expected to receive between US$200,000 and 300,000. [49] On September 11, a ceremony was held when the last Israeli flag was lowered in the IDF's Gaza Strip divisional headquarters. Netanyahu and three other cabinet ministers from Sharon's ruling Likud government threatened to resign unless Sharon agreed to hold a national referendum on the plan within fourteen days. On August 10, in his first speech before the Knesset following his resignation, Netanyahu spoke of the necessity for Knesset members to oppose the proposed disengagement. throughout the weeks before the disengagement, and during the evacuation itself, the Israeli media repeatedly warned of potential violent confrontation between settlers and security forces. Since Israel's 2005 disengagement, Israel and Hamas have fought three separate wars: in 2006, in 2008-9, and in 2012; Israel invaded Gaza in the first two but only bombed in the third. [51] This completed the Israeli pullout from the Gaza Strip. "[91], The unilateral disengagement plan has been criticized from various viewpoints. [43], On August 28, the IDF began dismantling Gush Katif's 48-grave cemetery. Most of the others were allowed to fall into open areas. And all this with authority and permission. [55][70][72] Palestinian Authority security forces attempted to stop them, but did not have enough manpower to be effective. Thanks to Israel permitting Qatari-funded fuel for Gaza’s only power station, electricity supply has risen to an average of 12 hours from as little as four hours a day. The disengagement was proposed in 2003 by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, adopted by the government in June 2004, and approved by the Knesset in February 2005 as the Disengagement Plan Implementation Law. jerusalem S ix hundred ninety rockets or mortars were fired from the Gaza Strip in the last two days, marking the most serious uptick of violence in the past four years. As a result of the passing of the plan (in principle), two National Religious Party (NRP) ministers, Effi Eitam and Yitzhak Levi, resigned, leaving the government with a minority in the Knesset. [citation needed][108][109][110][111] On August 11, 2005, between 150,000 (police estimates) and 300,000 (organizers' estimates) people massed in and around Tel Aviv's Rabin Square for an anti-disengagement rally. On October 26, the Knesset gave preliminary approval for the plan with 67 for, 45 against, seven abstentions, and one member absent. In 2015 the number of departures (not the number of permit holders, because some people left several times a month) was an average of 14,276 a month. By working together, Israelis and Palestinians can lay the groundwork for a peaceful transition.[93]. The protest march ended July 21 after police prevented protesters from continuing to Gush Katif. Going back into Gaza would just fire up the original problem. Further complications arose from Hamas's election victory in January 2006, and the rift that emerged between Hamas and Fatah. In some places, there was no security, while some Palestinian police officers joined the looters. Aryeh Yitzhaki defended his home with an M16 rifle, and dozens of settlers barricaded themselves inside or on the roof of his home, with at least four of those on the rooftop being armed. In the absence of a negotiated agreement – and I do not believe in the realistic prospect of an agreement – we need to implement a unilateral alternative... More and more Palestinians are uninterested in a negotiated, two-state solution, because they want to change the essence of the conflict from an Algerian paradigm to a South African one. In cases where communities did not stay together and communal property was lost, individuals would receive compensation for donations made to those buildings. There were scenes of troops dragging screaming and sobbing families from houses and synagogues, but with less violence than expected. Conversely, the disengagement has been criticized by parts of the Israeli left, who viewed it as nothing more than a mode of stalling negotiations and increasing Israeli presence in the West Bank. Israel and Egypt imposed a land, sea and air blockade on Gaza when Hamas reinforced its power over the territory in 2007 by ousting its rivals, a year after winning legislative elections. 69% supported a general referendum to decide on the plan; 26% thought that approval in the Knesset would be enough. [80] This forced him to seek a National Unity government, which was established in January 2005. Israel finishes evacuating Jewish settlers from the Gaza Strip and four settlements in the West Bank in a little over a week, ahead of schedule. If authority was given to the Palestinians, why didn't the Israelis stay out of that area? However, an official handover ceremony was cancelled after the Palestinian Authority boycotted it in response to Israel's decision not to demolish the synagogues. From a struggle against 'occupation,' in their parlance, to a struggle for one-man-one-vote. Workers who lost their jobs were eligible for unemployment benefits ranging from minimum wage to twice the average salary, for up to six months. The settlements were subsequently razed, with 270 homes being bulldozed. Israel will continue to provide Gaza with water, communication, electricity, and sewage networks.[28]. Palestinian Arabs have objected to the plan, stating that it aims to "bypass"[This quote needs a citation] past international agreements, and instead call for a complete withdrawal from the West Bank and Gaza Strip. [5][7], Demographic concerns – retaining a Jewish majority in Israeli-controlled areas – played a significant role in the development of the policy,[8][9][10][11] being partly attributed to the campaign by demographer Arnon Soffer. Israel will continue to control Gaza's coastline and airspace and reserves the right to undertake military operations when necessary. Ibrahim Gambari, Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, told the Security Council on August 24, 2005:[96]. The remaining dozens hit populated centers in the south, killing four civilians and wounding dozens more. As far as why Israel gave up the Gaza strip, I think option number 3 is the most logical reason. [4], Despite the disengagement, the United Nations, international human rights organisations and many legal scholars regard the Gaza Strip to still be under military occupation by Israel,[5] though this is disputed by Israel and other legal scholars. 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