Israeli government ministers have been fitted for body armor after death threats from right wingers who oppose the planned withdrawal from settlements in Gaza and the northern West Bank.
Ministers and important political figures are already protected by bodyguards at all times. Officials said ministers would wear the armor only when the Shin Bet, the Israeli secret service, decided it was necessary.
Flakjackets capable of stopping a low-velocity bullet from a pistol or a machine gun can be worn discreetly, but a jacket that can stop a high-velocity bullet is bulky and heavy.
PHOTO: AFP
Right wingers accuse the government of exaggerating the threat of violence from opponents of disengagement to try to delegitimize their protests; but rightwing extremists have regularly resorted to violence.
In 1993, Baruch Goldstein shot 29 Palestinians in a mosque in Hebron, and Yigal Amir assassinated prime minister Yitzak Rabin in 1995 in protest at the Oslo accords. Both men emerged from the rightwing fringe which is associated with the anti-disengagement protests.
Mainstream opponents of disengagement on Sunday tried to delay the withdrawal, which is due to start in the middle of next month, with an appeal to the Cabinet.
Agriculture Minister Yisrael Katz, an opponent of disengagement, asked that the evacuation of settlements be delayed for three months. The call was rejected by 19 members of the Cabinet and supported by two, Dan Naveh and Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Associates of Netanyahu say he will absent himself from the Knesset when it votes on a separate bill to delay disengagement for a year.
Sharon's aides briefed reporters that if Netanyahu failed to support the government and the bill, he could be fired.
Commentators noted that Sharon was likely to allow Netanyahu to make his token protest and let him remain in the Cabinet, where he is bound by some degree of collective responsibility.
In a statement issued by Netanyahu's office, he said that in skipping the vote tomorrow he would be following the example set by Sharon in 1997 -- when Sharon was a minister in Netanyahu's government.
Meanwhile at least eight settler families, including two in Gaza and six in the West Bank have moved to new homes within the borders of Israel. The departures coincided with the start of summer holidays in Israeli schools.
The Gross family, from the Elei Sinai settlement in northern Gaza, moved out on Sunday. Haim Gross said he supported the Gaza withdrawal, and was looking forward to a new life with his wife and four daughters in the nearby Moshav Maslul, after 10 years in Elei Sinai. The Gross family was the first to leave Elei Sinai.
In Gaza's Rafiah Yam settlement, the Abovitch family left last Thursday and moved to northern Israel.
In the small West Bank settlement of Ganim, at least five families have moved out since Thursday, and five more were expected to leave in the coming days, said Rami Mansour, the secretary of the community.
Ganim was once home to 30 families. Mansour said all but seven families were expected to be gone by the time soldiers came to remove residents by force.
Packed crowds in India celebrating their cricket team’s victory ended in a deadly stampede on Wednesday, with 11 mainly young fans crushed to death, the local state’s chief minister said. Joyous cricket fans had come out to celebrate and welcome home their heroes, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, after they beat Punjab Kings in a roller-coaster Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket final on Tuesday night. However, the euphoria of the vast crowds in the southern tech city of Bengaluru ended in disaster, with Indian Prime Minister Narendra calling it “absolutely heartrending.” Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said most of the deceased are young, with 11 dead
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