How Is Pullout to Play Out?

Here are some answers to questions about Israel’s withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, which is to begin this week.

Question: How long will the pullout take?

Answer: The withdrawal of about 9,000 Jewish settlers from the 21 settlements of the Gaza Strip and four smaller ones in the northern West Bank is to take about four weeks. Israeli troops will remain in place for about two to three more weeks to demolish settler homes, which the two sides agreed were impractical housing in one of the world’s most densely populated places. Israeli troops are expected to leave a border corridor between Gaza and Egypt by the end of the year.

Q: What is the historic significance?

A: This is the first removal of Jewish settlements from land captured in the 1967 Middle East War that Palestinians want for their future state. Supporters of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s plan see it as relieving Israel of an immense security liability and helping to ensure a Jewish majority within Israel’s borders. Opponents believe the prime minister is relinquishing land promised to the Jewish people in the Bible, and also assert that it will encourage Palestinian militant groups to step up terrorist attacks.

Q: How will the logistics work?

A: Settlers have been given until midnight Tuesday to leave their homes voluntarily; after that soldiers will begin removing them by force. About 50,000 police officers and soldiers are involved in the pullout. Israeli forces are prepared to deal with violent resistance from some settlers, including activists from outside Gaza, particularly those from the West Bank.

There is also the possibility of attacks by Palestinian militant groups that want to give the impression that Israel is being driven out of Gaza.

Q: Where will the settlers go, and will they receive compensation?

A: Settler families are entitled to compensation averaging $200,000 to $300,000 per family, based on a government formula that takes into account factors such as family size and length of residency. They will receive subsidized housing in locales that are scattered around the country, but settlers must apply for the compensation through an Israeli government agency set up to oversee the withdrawal. A minority has refused to do so, believing it would imply consent to or approval of the evacuation.

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The two sides

Arguments for and against the Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip:

In favor

Supporters of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s plan to remove Israeli troops and settlers from the Gaza Strip say Israel cannot maintain its Jewish majority if it tries to retain sovereignty over the more than

1.3 million Palestinians of Gaza. They also hold that the burden of defending the settlements, particularly small and isolated ones, has become untenable. (In the settlement of Netzarim, for example, the number of soldiers and settlers was roughly equal.) The settlements were heavily subsidized, with Israel devoting millions of tax dollars to cheap housing and tax breaks for the settlers. The withdrawal plan was conceived by Sharon before the demise of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, with Israel aiming to break what had become a bitter diplomatic deadlock during the conflict of the last five years.

In opposition

Opponents of the plan say the settlements serve as a bulwark against attacks by Palestinian militants against Israel, and argue that leaving Gaza will embolden groups such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad, which see it as a victory for the armed uprising against Israel. Opponents of the withdrawal also say that relinquishing control of the border between Gaza and Egypt, which is to happen later this year, will cause an exponential increase in weapons smuggling. The anti-pullout movement is dominated by religiously observant Jews who maintain that Gaza is part of the biblical birthright of the Jewish people and that giving it up runs counter to God’s will. Opponents also object to the fact that the withdrawal is being carried out unilaterally, without Israel getting promises of anything in return from the governing Palestinian Authority.