KFAR DAROM, Gaza Strip - Residents of this south Gaza settlement refused to meet with a top official from Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s office on Wednesday.
Director-General Ilan Cohen had planned to meet with officials of a local vegetable factory in Kfar Darom to discuss compensation issues ahead of the expected pullout this summer.
However, settlers protested his arrival at the entrance of the settlement and locked the gate leading to the building prior to his visit.
“We are not interested in talking to anyone who wants to expel us,” one source told Ynetnews. “He turned around and left because he understood we don’t want him (here).”
Ilan Cohen later slammed the demonstration and called on Gaza settlers to meet with him again.
"You can't say we will not conduct negotiations," he said. What do you think, we can lease lands all over the country and you'll tell us where you going only in August?" he said.
No violence
Shaul Bar-Ilan, a resident of Kfar Darom, said no violence ensued during the abbreviated visit, but residents made it clear they would not speak to him.
“Cohen was a few meters from the community and understood on his own that he wasn’t welcome, and he left. We’ll make sure the (pullout) plan will never happen.”
'The tour continues'
Cohen plans to visit several more settlements later in the day. Most settlers and staunch right-wingers oppose the plan, and sources confirmed anti-pullout protest signs were spotted in the area but denied he was prohibited from entering.
The government has been negotiating in recent weeks with settler leaders in a bid to urge them to leave their homes and businesses in Gaza before the pullout, set to begin in August.
Those who do so are expected to receive tens of thousands of dollars in compensation. Many settlers have already signed such deals.
Cohen was expected to try and convince Kfar Darom residents to relocate to the Israeli town of Nitzanim, where Prime Minister Ariel Sharon plans to order the establishment of dozens of homes and farming fields for settlers slated for evacuation.
An official who works at the factory criticized the protest, saying workers would have liked to talk to Cohen.
“We are part of the community, and the residents blocked his path without our consent,” one source said. “We set a nice table for him and we planned on welcoming him.”
- Efrat Weiss, Diana Bahur-Nir and Shmulik Hadad contributed to this report