Jewish extremists could shoot at soldiers during Gaza pullout: army chief

JERUSALEM - The Israeli army must be prepared for the prospect that Jewish hardliners open fire at soldiers during the pullout of settlers from the Gaza Strip, chief of staff Moshe Yaalon said Wednesday.
"The army must be prepared for the possibility that Jewish extremists will shoot at their fellow Jews," the general told public radio.
However Yaalon, who is to stand down at the end of the month, predicted that "the majority of the settlers will leave of their own accord", without force during the operation beginning in mid-August.
The troops and police who are tasked with directly confronting the settlers on the day of evacuation will not be armed.
However forces on an outer circle will bear arms and reports have said that a team of snipers will be on duty in the case that Jewish ettlers resort to armed opposition.
Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz decided not to renew Yaalon's contract for a further year, as is standard, in February.
Yaalon was quoted last year as saying that "evacuating the settlements will give a tailwind to terrorism".

05/11/2005 12:16 GMT