TEL AVIV - Shooting, fist fights, insults: Israeli soldiers are gearing up to counter the worst that Jewish settlers can throw at them during the planned pullout from the occupied Gaza Strip in August.
"We are preparing for settlers to open fire, raise a hand to our soldiers and insult us," a military official from the defence ministry told AFP.
"Those who resort to such violence will be dealt with by civilian justice and put in prison," added the source on condition of anonymity.
Military officials at a news conference Wednesday spelled out the phased stages of withdrawing all soldiers and 8,000 Jewish settlers from Gaza and the dismantling of four settlements in the northern West Bank.
From June, comings and goings between Israel and the Gaza settlements will be strictly controlled to minimise any influx of supporters anxious to bolster settler ranks of resistance.
The following month, the Gaza Strip will be sealed off as thousands of soldiers and thousands more police begin to deploy in the area.
July will also see military personnel undergo psychological and physical training, with the emphasis on negotiation first and force if necessary.
Neither soldiers nor police tasked with evicting families will be armed. All settlers will be required to surrender their weapons before the evacuation.
In a process scheduled to begin on August 15, between one and three settlements will be evacuated per day, the officials said.
All Israeli civilians will be removed from Gaza Strip during the first three weeks and from the northern West bank in the fourth week.
The military will then pack up their equipment and dismantle their bases over the subsequent six weeks, bringing Israel's 38-year-long occupation of the Gaza Strip to a formal end around October 22, the officials said.
05/25/2005 13:25 GMT