Israel eyes parts of Gaza

2005-05-29 19:08

Jerusalem - Israel may re-occupy large chunks of the Gaza Strip and send troops into the centre of Palestinian cities ahead of this summer's withdrawal from the coastal area, a senior Israeli official said on Sunday.

If Palestinian security forces are unable or unwilling to prevent militants from firing on troops involved in the evacuation of Jewish settlements, Israel will reoccupy cities next to the Israeli communities - most specifically the Khan Younis town and refugee camp, said Giora Eiland, the head of Israel's National Security Council.

A decision on whether to reoccupy the areas will be made in the days just before the evacuation - scheduled to begin in mid-August, Eiland said. Troops are already trained and ready to takeover the dense urban areas if necessary, he added.

Israel withdrew from Palestinian areas of Gaza in 1995. During the past four years of violence, the army has carried out operations in Gaza, but it avoided reoccupying urban areas where narrow streets make it difficult for tanks and other armoured vehicles to manoeuvre, leaving soldiers vulnerable to gunfire.

"The irony is that years after ending our occupation of the cities, we could again find ourselves in the city centres," Eiland told foreign reporters.

Some Palestinian towns and cities, like Khan Younis in the south, are just a few hundreds meters from Jewish settlements.

Ideally Israel would like the Palestinian security forces to secure their areas and ensure a peaceful evacuation, Eiland said, but Israel will not be able to risk having militants fire mortars or homemade rockets at the thousands of withdrawing troops and settlers, who are expected to be locked in conflict themselves.

- AP