Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon warned Jewish settlers on Wednesday that he will use all the government’s power against anyone who resists his planned withdrawal from Gaza and the granting of a token part of the West Bank.
His comment came after an angry confrontation between settlers and the Israeli army on Monday in which the police helped to remove two settler outposts at Shalhevet in the hard line Yizhar settlement on the West Bank.
Sharon, who was the main force behind the creation of illegal settlements on the West Bank and Gaza, offered his unequivocal support to the soldiers and said that the government would look at what legal action it could take against the settlers.
On Wednesday Sergeant Yossi Pilant became the first Israeli soldier to be punished for refusing to obey an order to enforce an evacuation. He was sentenced to 28 days’ detention for calling on soldiers to ignore an order to dismantle an outpost.
Election workers in east Jerusalem claim they are being obstructed and harassed by the Israeli security forces. Campaigners for the seven candidates to succeed the late Yasser Arafat as the Palestinian Authority’s president have been summoned for questioning by the Israeli security agency, the Shin Bet, and warned not to put up posters or canvass in Jerusalem.
The area was annexed by Israel in 1967, but authorities have agreed to allow residents to vote in the January 9 election. However, any manifestations of what is believed to be Palestinian sovereignty is held in disregard.
Presidential candidate Mustafa Barghouti was arrested twice by Israeli police while campaigning in Jerusalem’s Old City and other candidates have also been detained while attempting to move around the West Bank.
There are some posters for Mahmoud Abbas, the Fatah front-runner to succeed Arafat, in east Jerusalem, but none for the other six candidates.
This has led to accusations that Israel is undermining the election by allowing only a few thousand Palestinians to vote in east Jerusalem. More than 100 000 Palestinians will have to leave the city if they want to vote.
The Israeli government has also banned the use of privacy screens in post office voting booths in east Jerusalem and told election officials that they may not mark voters with indelible ink to prevent fraud.
Palestinians say it could make the election meaningless and reduce the credibility of the winner.
The region remains tense ahead of the election. Seven Palestinian youths were killed by Israeli soldiers on Tuesday, while on Wednesday 12 Israeli soldiers were injured after Palestinian militants fired two rockets into Israel from Northern Gaza. — Â