Peakah's Provocations...

Israeli troops ready to open fire on settlers
Uzi Mahnaimi, Tel Aviv

ISRAELI special forces are prepared to shoot to kill Jewish settlers if they come under fire during next month’s evacuation of 22 settlements in the Gaza Strip.
Members of Israel’s feared Duvdevan (Cherry) commando unit, who have concentrated on hunting Palestinian militants on the West Bank, are training for the evacuation at a dummy settlement in a remote desert location.

The commandos, who have killed hundreds of Palestinian militants over the years, are now being told to be ready to open fire on Israelis — but only in response to an attack on fellow soldiers.

“First our commanders asked if any of us thought he could not take part in the disengagement of Gaza,” one of the members of the unit said last week. “Obviously nobody refused as we are volunteers, but I must admit that while we were happy to kill the bastards in the West Bank, we hope to be unemployed in August.”

Under plans for the pull-out, details of which have been obtained by The Sunday Times, every house in the 22 settlements marked for evacuation will be approached by a team of army and police officers. A warrant will be presented to its inhabitants, who will then be asked to evacuate the building immediately.

“We strongly believe that the majority of the families will obey the warrant and leave their houses at once,” said one security source. “Those who refuse to do so will be removed forcibly by the police to a nearby bus to take them out of Gaza.”

Although the overwhelming majority of the settlers are expected to comply, security sources believe that a hard core of about 200 could attempt serious violence, requiring the intervention of the commandos.