RAMALLAH: The Palestinian leadership has accused Israel of setting it up to fail by withholding information crucial to a successful transfer of control of the Gaza Strip when Jewish settlers are withdrawn this summer. Mohammed Dahlan, the chief Palestinian negotiator on the pullout, said the Israeli government was “employing tricks” over the handover.

“I believe the Israelis want to delay all the decisions to the eleventh hour and for disengagement not to be successful and later blame the Palestinians for the failure,” he said. “The Israelis are trying to make sure the occupation remains in the Gaza Strip with our cooperation and agreement. This is a means to repackage the occupation but the occupation will remain.” Mr Dahlan said that in 10 meetings with the Israelis, he had pressed without success for information on issues such as border crossings, including the one now operated by Israel between southern Gaza and Egypt, and the handling of exports from businesses presently under Israeli control.

“The Israelis have yet to give us any information as to whether we have access for goods to Israel. All we have been asking is for the same system the settlers have for their goods,” he said. Mr Dahlan, who is also the Palestinian civil affairs minister, said that after he asked for plans of the areas for which the Palestinian Authority will assume responsibility, Israel handed over maps up to a decade old. Settlements in the area have more than doubled in size in that period.

Israel has not decided whether to demolish the 1,500 settler homes, but it has said it will hand over the power and water infrastructure intact. The Palestinians say they have appealed for plans of the electricity and water grid in vain. The Palestinians are also pressing to be allowed to reopen Gaza’s international airport, which was closed at the beginning of the intifada after the Israeli army dug up the runway. Mr Dahlan said Israel was also refusing to reopen the road link established under the Oslo peace accords for Palestinians to travel between Gaza and the West Bank, known as “safe passage”, which he said was important to the economic wellbeing of both territories. Israel proposes a railway between the two, but it would not be ready for at least three years.

“Sharon wants to see that the Gaza disengagement plan is the end of the peace process. This is the only reason I can give for Sharon’s lack of cooperation,” said Mr Dahlan. “What Israel is really doing is creating the conditions for a third uprising to take place.” Israeli officials deny deliberately undermining the Palestinian takeover but acknowledge that the government has failed to make key decisions.

It increasingly appears as if the Israeli army will withdraw from the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, but the security establishment is reluctant to permit the Palestinians to control the crossing into Egypt. It proposes moving it to an area where it would be subject to Israeli oversight. Israel says it expects some of these issues to be resolved at a meeting between Mr Sharon and the Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas, in 10 days.

Mr Sharon is facing growing scepticism among ordinary Israelis, with polls showing slipping support for the Gaza pullout, apparently because many people believe the government is ill-prepared and the settlers will lack alternative housing and schools.

Israel’s high court on Friday struck down a challenge by settlers to the Gaza withdrawal, removing the last legal obstacle to the pullout. The court ruled that the Gaza Strip is not part of Israel and it does not breach Israeli law.—Dawn/The Guardian News Service