Posted on 09/11/2005 8:33:07 PM PDT by Alouette
MORAG, Gaza Strip - Triumphant Palestinians poured into abandoned Jewish settlements Monday, setting empty synagogues on fire and shooting in the air, while Israeli troops left in convoys in the final phase of Israel's pullout from the Gaza Strip after 38 years of occupation.
Palestinian police stood by helplessly as gunmen raised flags of militant groups in the settlements and crowds smashed what was left in the ruins or walked off with doors, window frames, toilets and scrap metal.
Initial plans by Palestinian police to bar the crowds from the settlements for the first few hours quickly collapsed, illustrating the weakness of the Palestinian security forces and concerns about growing chaos after Israel's departure.
Women ululated, 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."
Just before daybreak, Abbas was heading to what was once the largest Jewish settlement, Neve Dekalim, his aides said.
Israel had demolished nearly all buildings in its 21 Gaza settlements, but decided at the last minute to leave 19 synagogue buildings intact, a decision criticized by the Palestinians and the United States.
Palestinians carried off what was left in the debris of the settlements, including chairs, tables and shopping carts. Young men tore down electricity poles, grabbing the wires. In the Netzarim settlement, a group of men took turns hitting a column in a building with a hammer. Two empty synagogues and a Jewish seminary were set on fire.
Palestinian police appeared overwhelmed, watching the destruction from the sidelines. Police Col. Abdel Khader Abu Tayr said police didn't have enough time to deploy because Israeli troops left without sufficient warning. "Now we are expending every effort to kick the people out and protect the buildings," Abu Tayr said.
In Neve Dekalim, 22-year-old Abdel Rahman Barakat rode his bicycle through the streets, amazed at the space the settlers had enjoyed. "Oh my God, I feel so comfortable here," he said. "It (the settlement) is very wide, it's very big."
In northern Gaza, Palestinian university student Rami Rayan walked toward the abandoned settlement of Elei Sinai, where he said a cousin carried out a suicide bombing five years ago. "I want to feel that his blood wasn't spilled in vain," Rayan said, as he picked up bullet casings as souvenirs. "They (the Israelis) left because of resistance."
The 5,000 Israeli troops who had been left in Gaza began driving toward Israel before dawn Monday. Dozens of soldiers waited on the Israeli side of the crossing as the first convoy of armored vehicles passed through the Kissufim crossing. Gaza commander Brig. Gen. Aviv Kochavi was expected to be the last Israeli soldier to leave.
Two tanks broke down because of mechanical problems, and troops waited for huge tow trucks to arrive. Soldiers fired in the air to deter Palestinians from approaching.
Late Sunday, Israeli troops lowered their national banner in Neve Dekalim, snapped farewell pictures and closed army headquarters, which were left intact for use by the Palestinians.
In a somber farewell ceremony, the Israeli commander in Gaza, Kochavi expressed hope the pullout would be a step toward peace.
"The gate that will close behind us is also the gate that will open," he said. "We hope it will be a gate of peace and quiet, a gate of hope and goodwill, a gate of neighborliness."
But he added a threat: "If a bad wind breaks through, then we will greet it with a force of troops ready and waiting."
A field commander, Lt. Col. Tzvika Tzoran, sat on the turret of a tank on an isolated sand dune in his final moments in Gaza, bidding farewell to the Mediterranean coastline he had come to love during his one-year stint. Other soldiers took pride in the orderly withdrawal, in contrast to a hasty retreat from southern Lebanon five years ago.
But the withdrawal, code-named "Last Watch," was overshadowed by Israeli-Palestinian disputes, including over border arrangements and Israel's last-minute decision not to demolish Gaza synagogues. The army was forced to cancel a formal handover ceremony that had been set for Sunday after angry Palestinians said they wouldn't show up.
The withdrawal marks the first time the Palestinians will have control over a defined territory. They hope to build their state in Gaza, the West Bank and east Jerusalem — areas that Israel captured in the 1967 Mideast War. Gaza is seen as a testing ground for Palestinian aspirations of statehood, but many Palestinians fear that after the Gaza pullout, Israel will not hand over additional territory.
The Palestinians say the occupation is not really ending, noting that Israel will continue to control Gaza's airspace, territorial waters and border passages. "Despite Israeli claims to the contrary, the Gaza Strip will remain occupied Palestinian territory under international law," said Palestinian Cabinet minister Mohammed Dahlan.
The final phase of the pull began Sunday with twin decisions in the Israeli Cabinet — to end military rule in Gaza and not to raze 19 synagogues in former Jewish settlements there.
The vote on the military rule was largely symbolic. Israel already had removed all of its 8,500 settlers from Gaza, leaving only soldiers there.
The last-minute decision to leave the synagogue buildings intact, a reversal of position, angered the Palestinians who said they would now be forced to demolish the buildings. In Washington, U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the Israeli Cabinet decision "puts the Palestinian Authority into a situation where it may be criticized for whatever it does."
When settlers left Gaza, they took with them the sacred Torah scrolls and the other holy items from the synagogues.
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.
Israel last week unilaterally closed the Rafah border crossing, the main gateway for Gaza's 1.3 million Palestinians, to the outside world.
Last week, Israel agreed in principle that foreign observers could eventually replace Israeli inspectors at Rafah. However, Israel said it could be months before the border reopens and a final deal would depend on Palestinian willingness to crack down on militant groups.
In the meantime, it plans to reroute border traffic through alternate Israeli-controlled crossings and turn over security control of the border to Egyptian forces, 750 of whom deployed at the border over the weekend.
Ahhh..that's fun..melting the gun barrels on these pukes.
"Mostly inbred..."
Well, it wouldn't surprise me if they were really big on incest. They don't seem to want to be a part of the world community.
BTW...I'd be really curious to see what they do with the greenhouses. Understand those weren't demolished, but sold to the Pali's. Did you know that Israel was the largest exporter of cut flowers to the EU? They took a desert and turned it into a going concern. Looking at this bunch, somehow I can't see anything that remotely resembles flowers.
Let them celebrate. It shouldn't take them too long to realize that the Israelis weren't the real oppressors.
And if they don't realize it, they'll never succeed in building a peaceful, stable state out of the Gaza, which means they'll become a target for international intervention. I vote we turn the Gaza over to the French.
What I see is somthing coming out of the south end of a north bound horse.
Bart.
Gee, I can understand the other stuff...it has value...
But what does a left-hand a$$wiping Islamazi need a modern personal hygiene item for? Ballast?
I rest my case. But it gets even worse. Idiots and inbreds are far too easy to program.
Keep your powder dry.
Bart.
Isaiah 66:23 And it will come to be, As often as the new moon comes in its monthly time, And as often as the sabbath comes in its sabbath cycle, All flesh shall come to worship before Me in Jerusalemo, Says Yahweh.
Isaiah 66:24 And they will go forth and see the corpses of the mortals Who transgressed against Me, For their worm shall not die, And their fire shall not be quenched, And they will become a repulsion to all flesh.
Yup...sounds and looks just about right to me...
"Young men tore down electricity poles, grabbing the wires."
I wish they had left the power on a bit longer.
In Neve Dekalim, 22-year-old Abdel Rahman Barakat rode his bicycle through the streets, amazed at the space the settlers had enjoyed. "Oh my God, I feel so comfortable here," he said. "It (the settlement) is very wide, it's very big."
In ten years, it will be just as over-populated as the rest of the gaza strip. When your breeding with your cousin and making 10 babies a family, it won't take long to turn this nice land into a typical middle-eastern ghetto.
I think the important thing to remember is that "the usual swarm of destruction" is not an Arab thing, it is an Islam thing. It is the teachings of Islam in action, the fruit from the training in all the Mosques. It happens world wide, no matter what race is subject to it's influences, from the Asians in Indonesia, to the Arabs of Arabia.
This is not a race issue, Arabs are not stupid or evil people. Islam just makes them that way.
As it is making many Americans that way right now. When the fruit ripens on the American branch of the tree of Islam, you will see the same mindless destruction and murder from it there. As it is not a race issue, nobody is immune from it's effects. Something nobody believes until it manafests. It is very difficult for sane men to understand insanity, and much easier to deny.
Denial is what this insanity requires to breed in and multiply.
Yes, there is such a think as right and wrong. Our unwillingness to confront our own wrong ideals, is breeding a far worse cancer among us than abortion, homosexuality and pornograpy.
This one is not just corrupting, it is a terminal disease.
Radiation would do the trick. A local application of a few kilotons followed by several hundred megatons distributed on a larger scale.
Expect more of the same. This link is tells it all. http://www.frontpagemag.com/media/slideshowimages/slide1.html
Rabid, psychotic, and fulminationg palesimians in action. A pack of howling baboons.
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