The army will not remove illegal squatters from the Yamit region of northem Sinai until after the week-long Passover holiday which begins Wednesday night. That announcement by Defense Minister Ariel Sharon at yesterday’s Cabinet meeting was token as a victory by the squatters, mainly Orthodox Jews determined to block Israel’s withdrawal from Sinai.
But it aroused anger and resentment among the veteran settlers of Yamit who complied with the army’s orders to evacuate the region by midnight, March 31. They see themselves being penolized for obeying the law while the militants who took over their abandoned homes are rewarded for defying it.
Many of the settlers will have to celebrate Passover in temporary quarters because their new homes inside Israel are not ready for occupancy. The squatters, who illegally occupied the abandoned buildings will celebrate the seder in them. They danced in the streets of Yamit today, chanting, “We have stopped the withdrawl.” They told reporters they would be celebrating Passover in Yamit for many years to come.
Sinai is to be returned to Egypt on April 25. Sharon, who visited the region yesterday, appealed to the militants to leave peacefully after Passover and warned that the army would evict them by force if necessary.
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