Fanatics prepare for Gaza war
2005-06-04 14:09
Gaza Strip - Dozens of fanatical Israelis bent on all-out war against the imminent pull-out from Gaza are setting up home in a once-abandoned beachfront hotel with dazzling views of the Mediterranean.
Formerly the Palm Beach and nicknamed the "Ocean Citadel" by its new guests, the hotel is about to become the front-line in the struggle against armed forces tasked with ending the 38-year Israeli occupation of Gaza this summer.
Built on the edge of Neve Dekalim, the largest Jewish settlement in Gaza, on a paradise beach of glittering white sand, the building has largely fallen into disrepair since the Palestinian uprising crushed tourism in 2000.
Nadia Matar, the leader of "Women in Green," an extreme right-wing movement, has relocated from the southern West Bank settlement of Efrat to help direct the struggle and introduces herself as the new hotel manager.
Came to fight
Access to the compound is strictly controlled by armed guards.
"We came to fight against (Israeli Prime Minister Ariel) Sharon uprooting Jews," she said, turning aside to bark commands over much-needed repair work.
More than 110 bedrooms are being prepared in the next few weeks for an influx of settlers, deemed appropriate "to halt the immoral (evacuation) order" by a strict screening process intended to whittle out the weak-willed.
Coming from some of the most radical and religiously fundamental settlements in the West Bank, among those already ensconced are members of the outlawed, anti-Arab movement Kach.
"We'll win the war" stickers have been glued to walls of the scattered groundsman's huts assigned to the security guards.
Bentzi Guwstein, along with his wife and seven children, left their West Bank home for two refurbished hotel rooms with a sea view at "Ocean Citadel."
They use the re-branded communal kitchen to prepare their meals and next week a children's nursery will open.
Around 30 families have followed their example, much to the delight of the hotel proprietor whose establishment has not seen such prosperity for years.
But ironically, many of the 1 500 settlers in Neve Dekalim are horrified at the prospect of an army of fanatics on their doorstep. Opposed to the pullout in principle, most of its settlers nevertheless cannot condone violence.
"We're not radical in Gush Katif. These people do not represent us," said Debbie Rosen, spokesperson for the district council.
She points out that 150 families from all over Israel have moved to the main settlement bloc in recent months in sympathy with the plight of the Gaza Jews, but in "expression of solidarity, not to cause trouble."
Noses put out of joint by what they call the "extremist geezers" from Kach and worried their images as upstanding citizens are at stake, Neve Dekalim town councillors have barred Matar and her brigade from renting in town.