from The Australian: Abraham Rabinovich, Jerusalem, September 12, 2005
THE last Israeli soldier is due to leave the Gaza Strip today, ending 38 years of military occupation of the Palestinian territory. The departure will finally give the Palestinians control of a stretch of land - albeit minuscule - they can call their own.
But the ability of the Palestinian Authority to control militant groups in Gaza and suppress incipient chaos appears questionable in view of mounting signs of anarchy in the area.
... Palestinian leaders say Palestinian statehood will be achieved only after Israel departs from the West Bank as well.
The Israeli commander in Gaza, General Aviv Kochavi, was to participate in a handover ceremony with his Palestinian counterpart late yesterday, when the Israelis were to turn over maps detailing the water, electricity and sewage systems of the areas being evacuated. But Palestinian officials indicated they would not take part in the ceremony because of a continuing dispute over the border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt.
At Israel's request, Egyptian troops began deploying over the weekend along the 14km border between their territory and Gaza to prevent smuggling of arms. As the Egyptian forces moved in and Palestinian security forces deployed in strength on their side of the border, Israeli troops pulled back from the area, which has been the scene of intense clashes during the intifada...
No comments:
Post a Comment