Settlers must 'forgive state'

2005-08-10 22:00

Jerusalem - Israel's President Moshe Katsav on Wednesday asked the more than 8 000 Jewish settlers to be uprooted from the occupied Gaza Strip and northern West Bank to forgive the state for the looming withdrawal.

"In the name of the state of Israel, I ask your forgiveness because we are asking you to leave your homes after decades," he said ahead of Israel's disengagement operation which begins on August 17.

"I identify with your pain. We know you moved to the Gaza Strip following decisions taken by Israeli governments.

"You have proved yourselves heroes in the face of danger," he said during a discussion broadcast on television.

But the president, who enjoys largely ceremonial power in Israel, also said "the time has come to respect the decision taken by the authorities, the Knesset (parliament), the government".

"The world is watching us... Opposition to the pull-out must not threaten the security of the state," referring to threats from ultra-nationalist opponents of the historic withdrawal from Palestinian territory to sabotage the operation.

"Even those who think that this process is a mistake are not entitled to break the law. There is a limit to struggle," said Katsav.

He also said calls for soldiers involved in the evacuation to disobey orders were "a very serious mistake that could bring us to catastrophe".

"The trauma of the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin is with us every day," said the president, recalling the late Israeli prime minister who was shot dead in 1995 by a Jewish extremist determined to sabotage the peace process.

Personal security has been stepped up around Prime Minister Ariel Sharon following multiple death threats from radicals opposed to his so-called disengagement plan.

- AFP