PM mulls abolition of gov't settlement division

Following an unproductive meeting with settler representatives on Sunday, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon announced his intentions to establish a team that will examine whether to abolish the government's Jewish Settlement Division.

The division was established in the 1960s by the government and the World Zionist Organization to assist in the establishment of settlement in the West Bank and Gaza. It has functioned as the chief conduit for financing West Bank and Gaza settlements, as well as settlements in the Golan Heights. Its operations, however, were only officially recognized in 1998, during Benjamin Netanyahu's term as prime minister.

Sharon's team will be headed by the director-general of the Prime Minister's Office, Ilan Cohen. Kobi Haber, the budget director of the Ministry of Finance, will also be be on the team, as will the general manager of the Jewish Settlement Division, Shlomo Ben Eliyahu.

By announcing the establishment of the team, Sharon is opening a new front in the battle with Israel's far-right wing. Given the timing of the team's establishment, right after the stormy meeting, Sharon's move can be interpreted as a threat: unless settlers cooperate with his plans to evacuate settlements and withdraw Israeli forces from Gaza, they may find their economic resources drying up.

Settler leaders in Gush Katif that they would not be attending a meeting with the prime minister in his office Tuesday.

The settlers said that they decided against meeting him after they heard "a detailed report" from Yesha Council leaders and realized that the prime minister "is not interested in dialogue with us."