Israeli zoo in Gaza poised to evacuate animals

By Jonathan Saul

NEVE DEKALIM, Gaza Strip (Reuters) – A zoo in a Jewish
settlement in Gaza has answered the call to evacuate ahead of
Israel’s planned pullout.

Holding a newly-born tortoise, Israeli zookeeper Eli Moses
said the animal had an advantage over the 9,000 settlers who
will be removed from their homes in Gaza next month.

“He is lucky — he has a home on his back wherever he goes.
What happens to us is not known,” he said.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s plan to evacuate all
21 settlements in Gaza and four of the 120 in the northern West
Bank on August, in a bid to “disengage” from conflict with the
Palestinians, is due to begin in mid-August.

Hundreds of snakes, birds and other animals from the
10-acre Katifari zoo in Gush Katif, Gaza’s largest settlement
bloc, will join the 9,000 settlers in the evacuation.

Israeli right-wingers oppose the withdrawal, claiming the
West Bank and Gaza as their biblical birthright, and have
criticized dozens of settlers who have signed compensation
deals with the government to leave ahead of the pullout.

“I am not ready for the animals to suffer, said Moses, 35.
“The decision has been taken by the management to find homes
for them ahead of the expulsion. At least they will get better
treatment than us.”

Army listening posts and barbed wire are visible from the
zoo’s encampment, which is close to the Palestinian refugee
camp of Khan Younis. Militants often fire slews of rockets and
mortar bombs at Israeli homes and army posts, which has been
met by retaliatory strikes by the Israeli army.

“During a really fierce mortar and rocket barrage about
four years ago, most of the babies born to the animals died,”
Moses said. “After this, the animals got used to it. I hope
they can readjust again.”

He said the animals also provided comfort for settler
children who remain wary of their fate after the pullout.

“It is a really difficult time and it is nice to visit the
animals. I still think the disengagement won’t happen,” said
visitor Shir Lev, 11 from the nearby settlement of Gadid.

A spokesman for the Disengagement Authority, a government
committee that oversees the pullout, said officials had begun
the process of evacuating the animals.

“The animals are to be sent to a zoo and other animal
centers (inside Israel),” the spokesman said.

Moses said he plans to keep a close eye on the animals in
their new home.

“What else can the authorities do to me after trying to
kick me from my home? It is more important that the animals are
housed,” he said. “I will visit them wherever they are. They
are my family.”