Sharon closes Gaza to Israelis until pullout ends
haaretz ^ | 07/13/05 | haaretz
 

PM orders Gaza closed to Israelis until end of pullout By Amos Harel and Nir Hasson, Haaretz Correspondents

In a step seen as a watershed moment in his disengagement plan, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon Wednesday morning ordered the Gaza Strip closed to Israeli visitors, declaring it a closed military area in order to blunt plans by anti-pullout activists to flood the Strip with protesters.

The order effectively closes the Strip to non-resident Istraelis until the end of the disengagement, as opposed to a temporary closure imposed two weeks ago to allow Israeli security forces to evacuate a hotel where anti-pullout activists had barricaded themselves.

The order also grants GOC Central Command chief Major General Yair Naveh the authority to determine the exact date of declaring the northern Samaria a sealed military zone for the evacuation of four settlements under the disengagemen
 

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