On October 3, the Israeli army's chief of operations, Major General Giora Eiland, said the shots had apparently been fired by Israeli soldiers the soldiers had been shooting from small slits in the wall, he said, and had not had a clear field of vision.

Sharon's latest statements, though, explicitly specified the settlements to be evacuated the Director of the National Security Council, General Giora Eiland, was appointed to chair an inter ministerial Relocation Committee and work out plans for conducting the evacuations, including compensation for relocated settlers.