Digging In

Yamit diehards vow to remain

"To those who think they can hold onto Yamit, all I can say is that peace is more precious than anything in the world, and in order for there to be peace, we must honor our commitments."

--Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak

Just south of Gaza on the highway to El Arish is the turnoff to Yamit. A long line of cars, full of sightseeing Israelis, is halted by a roadside stand where Israeli youngsters are handing out leaflets and soliciting signatures for a petition supporting a group called the Movement to Halt the Withdrawal. Afterward the youngsters paste bumper stickers on the cars. The slogan: DON'T UPROOT A TREE.

The scene is evidence of an increasingly vocal campaign by some Israelis to stop the final phase of the government's withdrawal from the Sinai next April, when this northern strip of the desert is scheduled to revert to Egypt under the terms of the Camp David peace accords. The focus of the campaign is Yamit, an Israeli settlement of 2,500 situated on a strand of sand beside the Mediterranean. Settled six years ago, Yamit even now is no bigger than a college campus. Behind a 110-ft. wire-mesh antiterrorist fence that looks incongruous in such a peaceful setting, Yamit's residents have skillfully managed to turn their town into a blooming oasis of lush, neatly manicured gardens. Outside the community, a series of smaller farming settlements has prospered with the aid of the latest in irrigation methods and plenty of hard work.

Now many of Yamit's white stucco homes and concrete apartment blocks have been deserted by those who have accepted the Israeli withdrawal as inevitable. But not everyone is going quietly. Empty buildings are occupied by squatters who have been brought in by Gush Emunim, the ultranationalist religious movement that has spearheaded the establishment of Jewish settlements on the occupied West Bank. The Gush now has about 125 families settled in and around Yamit expressly to prevent the Israeli withdrawal. Just last week 25 families moved into the local motel. In addition, they were joined in Yamit by three militant members of the Israeli Knesset, including Geula Cohen, who was the author of the controversial measure passed by the parliament last year that annexed Jerusalem and infuriated the Arabs.

The assassination of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat has given new impetus to the antiwithdrawal movement, some of whose supporters openly rejoiced over Sadat's murder. They argue that international law recognizes that circumstances change, and believe that in a national referendum, which they hope will be called, Israeli voters would reject the Sinai withdrawal.

Fears are growing, however, that the rebellion could end in a violent confrontation between the settlers and Israeli troops. "The withdrawal should be as ugly as possible," says Menachem Digli, a former Israeli intelligence colonel who runs a resort south of Yamit. "It should leave a deep scar in the Israeli national memory." His reasoning: a fight would prevent future governments from making similar agreements about giving up the Golan Heights or the West Bank.

The Israeli government has made it clear that it remains committed to the Camp David accords. But opinion is divided on how to deal with the protesters. Some ministers are demanding that the squatters be evicted now. But Defense Minister Ariel Sharon has thus far resisted any early effort to remove them, apparently confident that only a small band of hard-core "crazies," as they are called by many Israelis, will hold out until the end, and that his troops can handle the situation. Prime Minister Menachem Begin himself has said nothing, which some people in Yamit interpret as a signal that he may stall on the withdrawal. Indeed, there is a growing belief among many observers that some officials are quietly encouraging the protesters. Meanwhile, however, about 90% of Yamit's residents have accepted cash compensation for their property, which in some instances has been as high as $2 million.

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