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Palestinians take over Jewish settlements
(AP)
Updated: 2005-09-12 19:22
Ecstatic crowds of Palestinians flooded into empty Jewish settlements early
Monday, setting abandoned synagogues on fire in a chaotic celebration of the end
of 38 years of Israeli military rule over the Gaza Strip, the Associated Press
reported.
Plans by Palestinian police to bar crowds from the settlements quickly
disintegrated, and militant groups hoisted flags and fired wildly into the air,
illustrating the weakness of the security forces and concerns about their
ability to control growing chaos in Gaza. The pullout is widely seen as a test
for Palestinian aspirations of statehood.
Just after sunrise, the last column of Israeli tanks rumbled out of Gaza.
Troops locked a metal gate and hoisted their national flag, removed from the
Gaza military headquarters, on the Israeli side of the border.
"The mission has been completed, and an era has ended," said Israel's Gaza
commander, Brig. Gen. Aviv Kochavi, the last soldier to leave the strip.
As soldiers poured out of Gaza throughout the night, jubilant Palestinians
rushed into the abandoned settlements, turning Gaza's night sky orange as fires
roared across the settlements. Women shrieked in joy, teens set off fireworks
and crowds chanted "God is great."
"Today is a day of joy and happiness that our people were deprived of in the
past century," said Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, adding that the
Palestinians still have a long path toward statehood. He denounced Israeli rule
in Gaza as "aggression, injustice, humiliation, killing and settlement
activity."
By midday, the situation had calmed, and curious Palestinians quietly toured
the abandoned Jewish settlements, as feelings of newfound freedom began to sink
in.
"Since last night, I have been in the street, for no reason, just to breathe
the air of freedom," said Samir Khader, a farmer in northern Gaza who needed
Israeli permits to go in and out of his village, flanked by Israeli settlements.
"I don't know what the future will bring, but at least, I can come in and out of
my house at any time."
Palestinians hope to build their state in Gaza, the West Bank and east
Jerusalem — areas that Israel captured in the 1967 Mideast War — but fear that
Israel will not hand over additional territory. They say Israel's occupation of
Gaza has not ended because it retains control over borders and the air space.
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has said he remains committed to the
U.S.-backed "road map" peace plan, which calls for an independent Palestinian
state, but linked any further withdrawals to Abbas' ability to rein in militant
groups.
Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz urged the Palestinian to impose law and
order or face a tough response. "We shall know how to act decisively and
intensively in the face of any terrorism," he said.
Abbas refuses to confront militants, insisting he can persuade them to disarm
peacefully. He has outlined an ambitious plan to reconstruct Gaza's shattered
economy, an effort he believes will bolster forces of moderation. But he faces a
difficult task in Gaza, where militants and armed gangs operate freely and wield
considerable power.
Ismail Haniyeh, a Hamas leader in Gaza, said the group "will support any step
that will produce something for our people" but made clear that it has no plans
to disarm as long as Israel controls the West Bank and Jerusalem.
"We should protect the resistance option and the resistance weapons," he
said. "These weapons liberated the land and by these weapons, we will continue
the liberation process."
As Israel completed its pullout, Palestinian jeeps decorated with the flags
of the Hamas and Islamic Jihad militant groups stopped just near the border and
a group of masked gunmen waved their weapons before Palestinian police moved
them away.
Pointing behind him at the border, Maj. Gen. Dan Harel, head of Israel's
southern command, said the pullout presented an important opportunity for the
Palestinians to take control of their future.
"The responsibility belongs to the Palestinian Authority," he said. "We hope
that they will know how to rise to the responsibility, and enable all of us to
leave in peace and security."
Palestinian authorities had promised an orderly transition after the pullout,
but the calls for calm were ignored. Police stood by helplessly early Monday as
gunmen raised flags of militant groups and crowds smashed what was left in the
ruins or walked off with doors, window frames, toilets and scrap metals.
After rushing into the settlements, Palestinians set fire to empty synagogues
in the Morag, Kfar Darom and Netzarim settlements, as well as a Jewish seminary
in Neve Dekalim. Later, a Palestinian bulldozer began knocking down the walls of
the Netzarim synagogue.
In Netzarim, two young Palestinians waving flags stomped on the smoldering
debris outside the synagogue, and others took turns hitting the building with a
large hammer.
"They (Israelis) destroyed our homes and our mosques. Today it is our turn to
destroy theirs," said a man in Neve Dekalim who gave his name only as Abu Ahmed.
Israel removed some 8,500 Gaza settlers from their homes in 21 settlements
last month, and razed homes and most buildings in the communities. However, the
Israeli Cabinet decided at the last minute Sunday to leave 19 synagogue
buildings intact, drawing complaints from the Palestinians and criticism from
the United States. In Washington, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said
the Israeli decision "puts the Palestinian Authority into a situation where it
may be criticized for whatever it does."
After daybreak, the situation was largely calm. Dozens of curious
Palestinians moved into Netzarim to get a glimpse of what was once a heavily
fortified enclave in central Gaza. People inspected the rubble, and school
children climbed on the ruins of a building. Environmental workers gathered
samples of rubble for testing.
Several people held posters of longtime Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, who
died last year, and pictures of the Hamas leaders killed by Israel, Sheik Ahmed
Yassin and Abdel Aziz Rantisi.
"Today is the beginning of a new era. The battle is still ahead of us. Gaza
is only the first step," said Mohammed al-Hindi, the leader of the Islamic Jihad
militant group, who was accompanied by dozens of followers. "The beginning will
be when we liberate Jerusalem and the West Bank."
Abdullah Franji, a top official in Abbas' Fatah party, put a Palestinian flag
around his shoulders as he toured the northern settlement of Elei Sinai.
"Today our people are smelling freedom," he said. "We hope that our joy will
be complete with free borders, with a connection to the West Bank and to have
Gaza as the first step toward achieving the Palestinian state."
The withdrawal, code-named "Last Watch," was overshadowed by
Israeli-Palestinian disputes, including over border arrangements and movement
between Gaza and the West Bank. The two territories lie on opposite sides of
Israel.
The Palestinians want full control over the Gaza-Egypt border after Israel's
withdrawal, saying free movement of people and goods is essential for rebuilding
Gaza's shattered economy. Israel wants to retain some control, at least
temporarily, fearing that militants will smuggle weapons into Gaza.
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