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Gaza settlers begin voluntary weapons handover
Jewish settlers in Gaza have been handing in weapons ahead of the Israeli withdrawal from the coastal strip later this month, AP reported. Residents of the Gan Or settlement, who belonged to a rapid response unit, handed back their M-16 rifles and emptied ammunition from their pouches Wednesday night. A second settlement, Netzer Hazani, is due to hand in its arms later Thursday, said Netzer Hazani security director Yoram Sror. Associated Press Television News footage at Gan Or showed security officials checking each returned weapon and writing down its serial number. An inventory list on the wall showed three machine guns, two mortars and two grenade launchers. One man angrily threw his weapon to the ground. All the settlements have arms caches supplied by the army and defense teams who are scrambled, along with troops in the area, in the event of an attack by Palestinian militants. Sror said the voluntary move was an attempt to prevent the settlers being branded violent extremists. Government officials have warned that small groups of ultra-nationalists might take up arms to resist the pullout set for August 17. Israel is evacuating all 21 Gaza settlements and 4 more in the West Bank. The weapons would be turned over to the military, Sror said. The army had no immediate comment. In March, the government said it would wait until just before the pullout to collect weapons from the settlers.
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