Workmen, mainly Arabs, employed by the Jewish Agency, resumed dismantling green-houses, irrigation equipment and farm implements at Talmei Yosef in the Yamit area of northern Sinai today, under the protection of Israeli soldiers. Illegal squatters were removed from the place last week.
Threatened interference by militants opposed to Israel’s withdrawal from Sinai failed to materialize and no incidents were reported. The dismantling work, necessary to relocate the settlement inside Israel, was abandoned a month ago when militants attacked the workers. The equipment and houses are being removed first from those settlements closest to the international border. Israel does not want to leave any structures on the border line that could be occupied by the Egyptians.
No attempt has been made yet to remove illegal squatters from Yamit, the largest Israeli town in Sinai. Anti-withdrawal extremists there are reportedly fortifying buildings for last ditch resistance to troops who may try to evict them.
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