Israeli troops have started handing Jewish settlers in the Gaza Strip their eviction orders as part of Ariel Sharon’s disengagement plan. The residents have 48 hours to vacate their homes of their own accord or face being forcibly evacuated by soldiers and police. The historic withdrawal brings an end to 38 years of Israeli occupation of territory it seized in the 1967 Middle East War. Many Jewish settlers remain defiant and have promised to stay put in their homes. Scuffles have broken out between furious and distraught settlers and the Israeli troops who had protected them for four decades. Other settlers are resigned to their fate of being pawns in a political process and have vowed to leave peacefully.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon announced in a televised address that the withdrawal of 8,500 settlers from the Gaza Strip and four small settlements in the West Bank was a painful but important step for Israel’s future and security. He attributed the pullout to changing forces in the region and the world. He told Israelis: “We cannot hold Gaza for good. More than a million Palestinians live there, doubling their numbers every generation.” Mr. Sharon reiterated it was now down to the Palestinians to clamp down on militants and curtail the terror. He said: “The world is waiting for the Palestinian response.…To an outstretched hand we shall respond with an olive branch, but we shall fight fire with the harshest fire ever.”

WARM-UPS

1. MIDDLE EAST: Talk to many students and find out as much information as you can on the items listed below. After you have finished, talk in pairs / groups about what you found out.

Ariel Sharon Gaza Settlers Mahmoud Abbas

Hamas The 1967 Six-Day War Palestinians The “Roadmap for Peace”

2. SETTLERS: Imagine you are a Gaza settler. You and your family have to leave the community in which you have lived for 30 years. You must leave your house and business. Talk to other “settlers” about the following:

Being evicted Security My lovely home and garden My political leaders

Palestinians A new life in Israel Gaza Other

3. CHAT: In pairs / groups, decide which of these topics or words are most interesting and which are most boring.

Israel / Israeli troops / Jewish settlers / Gaza Strip / Ariel Sharon / eviction orders / scuffles / pawns / security / the West bank / Palestinians / olive branches / fire

Have a chat about the topics you liked. For more conversation, change topics and partners frequently.

4. ISRAEL: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with Israel. Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.

5. GAZA OPINIONS: In pairs / groups, talk about how far you agree with these opinions on Gaza:

1. Gaza is Palestinian land. It is only right the settlers should go.
2. The settlers are being made to pay for political mistakes made 30 years ago.
3. Israel leaving Gaza is a victory for suicide bombers and terrorists.
4. Israel must also start preparing to withdraw from all of the West Bank.
5. Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza means terrorists will now focus on the West Bank.
6. East Jerusalem is the real Palestinian capital.
7. Ariel Sharon has shown enormous courage and vision over the Gaza withdrawal.
8. The peace process will now move forwards at a great speed.

6. QUICK DEBATE: Students A think peace will come quickly in the Middle East. Students B think there will be an increase in terror. Change partners often.

BEFORE READING / LISTENING

1. TRUE / FALSE: Look at the article’s headline and guess whether these sentences are true (T) or false (F):

a.	Israeli soldiers have started telling Gaza settlers to leave.	T / F
b.	Settlers have 48 hours to leave or be forcibly removed by troops.	T / F
c.	Israel has occupied Gaza since Israel was created in 1948.	T / F
d.	Settlers feel like they are political pawns.	T / F
e.	Ariel Sharon said withdrawal would be relatively painless.	T / F
f.	Mr. Sharon said Israel is withdrawing because of terrorism.	T / F
g.	Palestinians in Gaza are doubling in numbers every generation.	T / F
h.	Ariel Sharon has offered the Palestinians an olive branch.	T / F

2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article:

a.	eviction	disobedient
b.	accord	severest
c.	defiant	instruments
d.	distraught	suppress
e.	pawns	blamed
f.	address	removal
g.	attributed	halt
h.	clamp down	upset
i.	curtail	free will
j.	harshest	speech

3. PHRASE MATCH: Match the following phrases from the article (sometimes more than one combination is possible):

a.	handing Jewish settlers in the	address
b.	residents have 48 hours	in a political process
c.	brings an end to	broken out
d.	scuffles have	hand
e.	their fate of being pawns	every generation
f.	televised	Gaza Strip their eviction orders
g.	a painful but important	clamp down on militants
h.	doubling their numbers	38 years of Israeli occupation
i.	down to the Palestinians to	step for Israel’s future
j.	an outstretched	to vacate their homes

WHILE READING / LISTENING

GAP FILL: Put the words in the column on the right into the gaps in the text.

Sharon defends Gaza pullout

Israeli troops have started _______ Jewish settlers in the Gaza Strip their eviction _______ as part of Ariel Sharon’s disengagement plan. The residents have 48 hours to vacate their homes of their own _______ or face being forcibly _______ by soldiers and police. The historic withdrawal brings an end to 38 years of Israeli occupation of territory it _______ in the 1967 Middle East War. Many Jewish settlers remain _______ and have promised to stay put in their homes. Scuffles have broken out between furious and _______ settlers and the Israeli troops who had protected them for four decades. Other settlers are _______ to their fate of being pawns in a political process and have vowed to leave peacefully.		evacuated distraught orders seized handing resigned defiant accord
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon announced in a televised _______ that the withdrawal of 8,500 settlers from the Gaza Strip and four small settlements in the West Bank was a painful but important step for Israel’s future and security. He _______ the pullout to changing forces in the region and the world. He told Israelis: “We cannot hold Gaza for _______. More than a million Palestinians live there, _______ their numbers every generation.” Mr. Sharon _______ it was now down to the Palestinians to clamp down on militants and _______ the terror. He said: “The world is waiting for the Palestinian response.…To an __________ hand we shall respond with an _______ branch, but we shall fight fire with the harshest fire ever.”		curtail attributed olive doubling address outstretched reiterated good

AFTER READING / LISTENING

1. WORD SEARCH: Look in your dictionaries / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … for the words ‘own’ and ‘accord’.

• Share your findings with your partners.
• Make questions using the words you found.
• Ask your partner / group your questions.

2. ARTICLE QUESTIONS: Look back at the article and write down some questions you would like to ask the class about the text.

• Share your questions with other classmates / groups.
• Ask your partner / group your questions.

3. GAP FILL: In pairs / groups, compare your answers to this exercise. Check your answers. Talk about the words from the gap fill. Were they new, interesting, worth learning…?

4. VOCABULARY: Circle any words you do not understand. In groups, pool unknown words and use dictionaries to find their meanings.

5. STUDENT “GAZA” SURVEY: In pairs / groups, write down questions about Gaza and the Middle East peace process.

• Ask other classmates your questions and note down their answers.
• Go back to your original partner / group and compare your findings.
• Make mini-presentations to other groups on your findings.

6. TEST EACH OTHER: Look at the words below. With your partner, try to recall exactly how these were used in the text:

handing vacate historic defiant scuffles pawns

address painful good generation curtail branch

DISCUSSION

STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

1. What were your initial thoughts on this headline?
2. Did the headline make you want to read the article?
3. What are your thoughts on the Gaza pullout?
4. Do you feel sorry for the settlers who have to leave their homes?
5. Do you think settlers in the West Bank should also leave their homes?
6. Ariel Sharon is increasing settlement building in the West Bank. What do you think about this?
7. Do you think Israel has a “Gaza first, Gaza last” policy and that the Palestinians will get no further land?
8. Do you think Ariel Sharon is a courageous leader?
9. Will the Palestinians make an economic success of Gaza?
10. Will militants in Gaza now start attacking settlements in the West Bank?

STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

1. Did you like reading this article?
2. Do you think a Palestinian state will ever coexist with Israel?
3. What do you think is the next step in the peace process?
4. What kind of apology do you think Ariel Sharon owes the settlers?
5. Do you think the pullout is a victory for the terrorists?
6. How would you feel about your country evicting you from your home?
7. Should Israel quickly return to all pre-1967 borders?
8. Should Ariel Sharon and Mahmoud Abbas receive the Nobel Peace Prize?
9. Where do you think the Middle East will be a year from now?
10. Did you like this discussion?

AFTER DISCUSSION: Join another partner / group and tell them what you talked about.

1. What question would you like to ask about this topic?
2. What was the most interesting thing you heard?
3. Was there a question you didn’t like?
4. Was there something you totally disagreed with?
5. What did you like talking about?
6. Do you want to know how anyone else answered the questions?
7. Which was the most difficult question?

SPEAKING

MIDDLE EAST PEACE PROCESS: In pairs / groups, discuss your thoughts on the following issues:

1. Israel continuing to construct houses for Israelis on the West Bank.
2. The security barrier slicing into Palestinian land, dividing whole communities.
3. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas promising Palestinian people that East Jerusalem will be next to fall into Palestinian hands.
4. The fact that Hamas has greater popular support than the Palestinian Authority.
5. A “Gaza first, Gaza last” policy.
6. Hamas’ non-acceptance of the right of the state of Israel to exist.
7. The return of millions of Palestinian refugees from the 1967 war to live in Israel.
8. The national trauma experienced by Israel because of the Gaza pullout.
9. Israel being in breach of Geneva Conventions by occupying land it won in the 1967 war.
10. The Palestinian Authority being allowed to reopen Gaza’s airport and ports.

Find a new partner / group and talk about what was said in your previous discussions. Was there any consensus on any of the issues?

LISTENING

Listen and fill in the spaces.

Sharon defends Gaza pullout

Israeli troops have started handing Jewish settlers in the Gaza Strip their _________ orders as part of Ariel Sharon’s disengagement plan. The residents have 48 hours to _________ their homes of their own accord or face being forcibly _________ by soldiers and police. The historic withdrawal brings an end to 38 years of Israeli occupation of territory it _________ in the 1967 Middle East War. Many Jewish settlers remain _________ and have promised to stay put in their homes. _________ have broken out between furious and distraught settlers and the Israeli troops who had protected them for four decades. Other settlers are _________ to their fate of being _________ in a political process and have vowed to leave peacefully.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon announced in a _________ address that the withdrawal of 8,500 settlers from the Gaza Strip and four small _________ in the West Bank was a painful but important step for Israel’s future and security. He _________ the pullout to changing forces in the region and the world. He told Israelis: “We cannot hold Gaza for good. More than a million Palestinians live there, _________ their numbers every _________.” Mr. Sharon _________ it was now down to the Palestinians to clamp down on militants and _________ the terror. He said: “The world is waiting for the Palestinian response.…To an outstretched hand we shall respond with an olive branch, but we shall fight fire with the _________ fire ever.”

HOMEWORK

1. VOCABULARY EXTENSION: Choose several of the words from the text. Use a dictionary or Google’s search field (or another search engine) to build up more associations / collocations of each word.

2. INTERNET: Search the Internet and find more information on the Gaza pullout. Share your findings with your class in the next lesson.

3. LETTER: Write a letter to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Tell him / her what you think of the withdrawal from Gaza. Give him advice on what he should do over the next few years to bring peace and security to the Middle East. Read your letters to your classmates in your next lesson. Did you all have similar thoughts and advice?

4. DIARY / JOURNAL: Imagine you are a settler in Gaza. You have lived there for 30 years. Your friends, family, business and whole life is in Gaza. Now you must leave everything. Write your diary / journal entry for the day you leave Gaza. Read your entry to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all write about similar things?

ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE:

a. T

b. T

c. F

d. T

e. F

f. F

g. T

h. T

SYNONYM MATCH:

a.	eviction	removal
b.	accord	free will
c.	defiant	disobedient
d.	distraught	upset
e.	pawns	instruments
f.	address	speech
g.	attributed	blamed
h.	clamp down	suppress
i.	curtail	halt
j.	harshest	severest

PHRASE MATCH:

a.	handing Jewish settlers in the	Gaza Strip their eviction orders
b.	residents have 48 hours	to vacate their homes
c.	brings an end to	38 years of Israeli occupation
d.	scuffles have	broken out
e.	their fate of being pawns	in a political process
f.	televised	address
g.	a painful but important	step for Israel’s future
h.	doubling their numbers	every generation
i.	down to the Palestinians to	clamp down on militants
j.	an outstretched	hand

GAP FILL:

Sharon defends Gaza pullout

Israeli troops have started handing Jewish settlers in the Gaza Strip their eviction orders as part of Ariel Sharon’s disengagement plan. The residents have 48 hours to vacate their homes of their own accord or face being forcibly evacuated by soldiers and police. The historic withdrawal brings an end to 38 years of Israeli occupation of territory it seized in the 1967 Middle East War. Many Jewish settlers remain defiant and have promised to stay put in their homes. Scuffles have broken out between furious and distraught settlers and the Israeli troops who had protected them for four decades. Other settlers are resigned to their fate of being pawns in a political process and have vowed to leave peacefully.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon announced in a televised address that the withdrawal of 8,500 settlers from the Gaza Strip and four small settlements in the West Bank was a painful but important step for Israel’s future and security. He attributed the pullout to changing forces in the region and the world. He told Israelis: “We cannot hold Gaza for good. More than a million Palestinians live there, doubling their numbers every generation.” Mr. Sharon reiterated it was now down to the Palestinians to clamp down on militants and curtail the terror. He said: “The world is waiting for the Palestinian response.…To an outstretched hand we shall respond with an olive branch, but we shall fight fire with the harshest fire ever.”

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