Disengagement plan of the occupied territories

the disengagement plan (unilateral) (He dir=rtl texte= '' תוכניתההתנתקות '' (official name) or He dir=rtl texte= '' תוכניתההנתקות '') is a proposal of the Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to withdraw all the Israeli colonies of the Gaza Strip and certain colonies of the West Bank.

Contents of the plan

The plan relates to the 21 colonies of the Gaza Strip (Atzmona, Bedolah, Dugit, Elei the Sinai, Gad Or, Gadid, Ganei Tal, Katif, Kerem Atzmona, Kfar Darom, Kfar Yam, Morag, Netzarim, Netzer Hazani, Neveh Dekalim, Nisanit, Pe' At Sade, Rafa Yam, Shirat Hayam, Slav, Tel Katifa) inhabited by Israeli civilians, and 4 colonies of the West Bank ( Ganim, Homesh, Kadim, Its-nur); these zones were also occupied by military installations of Tsahal. Ariel Sharon affirmed that this plan would make it possible to improve safety of Israel and to respect the international laws, in the absence of political negotiations to put an end to the israélo-Palestinian conflict. The inhabitants of the colonies of Gaza had until August 16th, 2005 completed to evacuate their residences. After this date, the remaining families were evacuated by the Israeli army.

The disengagement plan adopted on June 6th, 2004 by the Israeli government provides that:

the Israeli army will preserve the monitoring of the border between the Egypt and Gaza and will destroy the dwellings around this border in order to establish a buffer zone (article 6).
Israel will continue to control the borders around the Gaza Strip, the coasts, the airspace and reserves the right to carry out military operations inside this territory (article 3.1).
Gaza will remain dependant on the water supply by Israel, the means of communication, the supply of electricity and the drainage (article 8).
the already existing commercial exchanges of importation will not be taxed, exports will be it. Israel will collect a tax on the foreign products which will be imported in Gaza. In addition the Shekel will remain used (article 10).

For the foreign observers, it appears that Israel will not confer the authority to the Palestinians, they thus do not regard this plan as a total disengagement.
For Ariel Sharon, this unilateral withdrawal is pledge of good will that it wishes to show with public opinion international and waits, after this realization, that the pressure is put on Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian Autorité so that the Palestinians show, in their turn, of the signs of fight against terrorism, as the stages of the Roadmap for peace envisage it.

An agreement with Egypt was added to the execution of this plan, envisaging the deployment of the Egyptian soldiers along the border to prevent the terrorist incursions and the traffics of weapons.

Chronology of its application

Ariel Sharon initially presented her plan in 2004 to the conference of Herzliya, sponsored by the political and strategic Institute. In order to reinforce its plan before a vote of the government and at the request of the Likoud, a referendum was organized inside Likoud on May 2nd, 2004. It led by a rejection of the disengagement plan to 65% of the voters.

Within sight of this result, the Prime Minister had asked his Minister for Defense Shaul Mofaz to amend the plan so that it is acceptable by the members of Likoud.

on June 6th, 2004, the government approved the amended disengagement plan, but with a reserve so that the dismantling of each colony is voted separately.

on September 14th, 2004, the Israeli government approved the idea to compensate the colonists who should leave their colonies.

on October 26th, 2004, the Israeli Parliament voted a preliminary approval in the plan by 67 votes for, 45 against and 7 abstentions. Benjamin Netanyahu and other personalities exhorted the Prime Minister to organize a national referendum as soon as possible.

on February 16th, 2005, the Parliament definitively approved the plan with 59 see for, 40 against and 5 abstentions.

on March 17th, 2005, an order of the army was given to interdir all new installations inside the Gaza Strip.

on March 25th, 2005, the Parliament disallowed a proposal to defer the withdrawal of the colonies, by 72 votes against and 39 for.

on April 8th, 2005, the Minister for Defense Shaul Mofaz affirmed that the residences would not be destroyed except for the synagogs which could be profaned. This assertion was far away from the initial contents of the plan which envisaged to destroy all the dwellings.

on May 9th, 2005, the beginning of the evacuation of the colonies was officially planned for the period of the 20 July with the 15 August, in order not to superimpose itself with the holidays and the festival of Tisha BeAv.

on June 9th, 2005, a survey carried out by a television channel shows that this plan is constant only by half of the population.

on August 7th, 2005, Benjamin Netanyahu gave her resignation in order to denounce a plan which he judges “blind man in time”.

on August 10th, 2005, with the call of religious leaders approximately: 250,000 people according to the organizers met in front of the Wailing Wall.

on August 11th, 2005: 300,000 people according to the organizers met in Tel-Aviv on the place Yitzhak Rabin to protest against the disengagement plan.

the August 15th at midnight, the border of the Gaza Strip was officially closed marking the 48 hours given to the inhabitants to voluntarily evacuate the colonies.

on August 17th, 2005, the colonists started to be expelled by the force, by the Israeli army.

on August 23rd, 2005, the evacuation of the inhabitants of the colonies of the West Bank and Gaza Strip is officially finished.

on August 31st, 2005, the Knesset voted the withdrawal of the Philadelphia road marking the border between the Egypt and the Gaza Strip, contrary to what had been envisaged during the development of the disengagement plan.

on September 11th, 2005, the cabinet decided the final withdrawal of the soldiers. A ceremony was held with Kissoufim for the withdrawal of the Israeli flag.

on September 12th, 2005, the total disengagement of Gaza is finished.

on November 25th, 2005, the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt is opened and the Palestinians can circulate there freely through the point of passage of Rafah.

External bonds

Official documents: text of the plan, exchanges with George W. Bush
Texte of the disengagement plan

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