Political Dispute on Settlement Seen Likely to Continue

The attempted illegal settlement at Sebastia raised political differences which appeared likely to continue even after the settlers decided to give up the attempt tonight under government pressure. In arguments sparked by the disclosure of the attempt, doves in the Cabinet said it was an illegal action which should be dealt with severely. Others, particularly Rafi ministers, including Defense Minister Shimon Peres, agreed the settlers should be forced out, if necessary, but that action should be as delicate as possible, to dampen widespread differences among Israelis.

Shulamit Aloni, head of the Civil Rights party, asked at the Cabinet session Friday, at which the decision was made to force evacuation of the settlement, how it happened that the army did not prevent the settlers from reaching the site, despite clear advance notice of their intentions. Some observers said former Defense Minister Moshe Dayan was partially responsible for the settlement attempt. He spoke in favor of Jewish settlement in the West Bank in the Knesset last week, a statement considered as giving a green light to the religious and Likud forces. But there was a general concensus among Premier Yitzhak Rabin’s coalition partners that no matter what any particular minister thought about Jewish settlement on the West Bank in general, there was no justification for partisan settlements without government approval.

A group of 15 professors from universities throughout the country urged Premier Rabin to enable Jews to settle in the Samaria region but Mapam spoke out strongly in opposition. The Mapam secretariat, at a meeting today, called on the government, before the settlers decided to leave, to use all means to evacuate the settlers. The secretariat also suggested that the settlers be brought to trial and that the possibility should be studied of revoking the immunity of the Knesset members who supported the settlers to try them as well.