Justice Minister Tzipi Livni and the director general of the Prime Minister´s Office, Ilan Cohen said yesterday that the government will give Gush Katif settlers one more week to decide whether to join the Nitzanim plan, and that otherwise they may not be able to move en bloc.

The pair spoke at a news conference following a meeting of the ministerial committee on disengagement.

Settlers leaders immediately rejected the ultimatum, saying it represented "the continuation of the government´s spectacle of deception in which it condescends to offer the settlers Nitzanim and they appear to turn it down." The leaders said the government planned to wear down the settlers "in refugee camps" until they end their struggle and give up on moving to Nitzanim.

"No one can survive three years in a trailer," one settler leader said. He said this was why the settlers were demanding to be moved directly from Gush Katif to their own plots in Nitzanim, to avoid being uprooted twice.

So far, 430 families have expressed interest in moving to Nitzanim, though not all of them have signed application forms.

Livni said contacts were continuing with other families and groups who had expressed an interest.

Livni and Cohen said they were not issuing an ultimatum but that it was necessary to set a deadline because the government needed time to organize temporary housing for evacuees. "We can´t put off decisions until the last minute," Livni said. "It is important for us to leave a window of opportunity for another week; after that, the door will still be open but the conditions will be different; we won´t be able to get organized at the last minute."

She said that the Nitzanim plan had been an initiative of the settlers themselves and not the government.

Cohen said, "It is not a matter of punishing those who don´t join in. It is merely a matter of being able to prepare and provide is requested." Government sources said time was not working in favor of those who want to move to Nitzanim.

Even if the number of families that want to join the plan remains at 430, it would be necessary to create at least one more community, in addition to expanding Nitzan, Livni said.

The government has bought options on 700 apartments in the region so that, if needed, they can serve as temporary housing for settlers, until they move to their permanent homes.

Disputed numbers

The settler leaders said again yesterday that there was no basis to to claims that more than 400 families had signed forms showing that they were interested in moving from their homes. They said the number could not be larger than 200. At Neveh Dekalim, the largest settlement in the Gaza Strip, there are 500 families, and only a handful have signed, they said.

Settler opposition circles, however, insisted that the numbers given by Livni were correct.

"The leadership talks about ideology and is presenting demands to lead to the failure of negotiations," they said. "We want to take care of our children´s well-being and ensure that they will leave here with as few scars as possible."

But the opposition circles among the settlers said Livni´s news conference had damaged their interests because it appeared as if the government was threatening the settlers, and this could alienate other settlers who might want to move to Nitzanim.

Avi Farhan, a veteran resident of Elei Sinai, yesterday called on residents of the northern Gaza Strip to reject Livni´s offer. In a letter circulated to settlers, he urged them not to sign, saying, "A person who is fighting for his home does not take out an insurance policy."

Residents of Elei Sinai yesterday released a map purporting to show that the northern Gaza Strip had never been controled by Egyptian or other foreign state, but rather had been a demilitarized zone under the UN.

They said their settlements were far from Palestinian villages and that they had never taken any Palestinian land or evicted anyone.

The northern Gaza Strip settlements are Elei Sinai, Dugit and Nisanit. (© Copyright 2005 Haaretz. 05/19/05)