Haaretz
Cheshvan 10, 5765
Even after Israel
withdraws from the Gaza Strip, it will still be considered under
international law as the occupying power and be held responsible for the
crowded territory, according to an internal government assessment made
public Sunday.
Under Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's disengagement
plan, Israel is scheduled to withdraw next year from the entire Gaza Strip
and four isolated settlements in the northern West Bank.
But
because Israel intends to maintain control over the crossings into Gaza,
its coastline and airspace, international law will still hold Israel
responsible for the territories and its population, according to the study
by legal experts from the Justice Ministry, Foreign Ministry and the
military.
"We must be aware that the disengagement does not
necessarily exempt Israel from responsibility in the evacuated
territories," said the 47-page report.
Israel could reduce its
responsibility over the territory, where 8,200 Jewish settlers currently
live among 1.3 million Palestinians, if someone else were to take control
there, the report said.
"The more active control is given to other
parties, the more difficult it will be to claim Israel is still
responsible," the study said.
The study, which has been submitted
to the National Security Council, responsible for implementing the
withdrawal, said that both the involvement of an international force in
Gaza or the establishment of a Palestinian state would reduce the burden
on Israel.
However, Cabinet Minister Tzipi Livni said Sunday that
Israel was unlikely to endorse either option since it was reluctant to
hand security control over to another party.
Despite the legal
complications, Israel hopes the international community will recognize the
withdrawal from Gaza as the end of occupation of the area, said Livni, a
lawyer by profession.
"I really would like to have the technical,
legal, international declaration that Israel is no longer responsible
there," Livni told Army Radio. "There is a tremendous difference between
if Israel stays there ... and a situation in which Israel does everything
to get out of there."
Sharon has said that he does not intend to
consult with the Palestinians ahead of the withdrawal, but Israel is
holding talks with international organizations to try and facilitate a
smooth transfer.
The report also examined the possible drawbacks
for Israel if the Palestinians were to declare a state or an international
force was brought in.
"A Palestinian state would be free to conduct
its foreign relations and we can expect a flood of agreements with Arab
nations and Muslim organizations," the report said, warning of Palestinian
military pacts with Israel's enemies.
The report also warned that
international involvement in Gaza could set a precedent for the West Bank
where Sharon hopes to hold large swaths in any future peace
deal.
Israel fears placing security control in the hands of
international forces or the establishment of a Palestinian state in Gaza
would severely limit its ability to defend itself from attacks from the
area.
Four Israelis have been killed in recent months from
Palestinian rocket attacks on the southern Israeli town of
Sderot.