October 1, 2003:
Mohammed's younger brother
Issam was seriously injured
and was taken to the hospital
about a week ago. His leg
was amputated and he is
undergoing medical treatment.

October 18, 2003:
Mohammad's younger brother,
Hussam [17 yrs old], was killed
by the Israeli army today.

Hussam was sitting at home
when he was shot in the face,
chest, back, legs. He had
nothing to do with any violent
or even political movement.

Hussam's crime is that he was
a Palestinian.

— The Webmaster

Approximate Freedom —
the Joys and Ironies of the Israel Army Departure from Gaza

http://www.ramallahonline.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2286

Sunday, September 18 @ 00:40:09 EDT
Neve Dakalim, Occupied Palestine

The sun seemed brighter when it rose Monday morning, minutes after the last Israeli soldiers left Gaza. All the towns, villages, and refugee camps were bright with Palestinian flags, along with flags of all the militant factions. Instead of going to school, hundreds of children—and many of their elders—couldn't resist going instead to the abandoned and largely demolished Israeli settlements where they explored the wide boulevards and hung their flags everywhere.

In Khan Younis, children played freely on the nearby beach, closed to them for many years. The youngest children had never once set foot on the sand or in the Mediterranean. The destroyed settlements nearby couldn't possibly diminish their delight on discovering that their elders' talk of the magnificent sea, the joy of swimming and playing in waves were not some lovely fairytale but the literal truth. 11 children drowned at the beach, and another 33 survived potential drownings.

The Israeli government made a parting gift of a public-relations disaster to the Palestinian Authority when on Sunday, hours before the Army's exit, they reversed their long-standing plans and decided not to raze the abandoned synagogues in the settlements..

It had been agreed for months that the Israeli Army would demolish the settlers' homes once the Israeli residents left, as the free-standing one-family houses surrounded by spacious yards would be of little use in housing Gaza's brutally overcrowded population. During the evacuation, the rabbis and their congregations removed the Torahs and other sacred objects with all necessary care and respect—and then, at the last minute, Sharon's government voted to leave the synagogue buildings intact — opening the way for news photos of Palestinian crowds destroying them — or, perhaps even worse — of the Palestinian Authority demolishing the former houses of worship.

Even the US State Department protested that this left the Palestinian Authority open to criticism no matter what they did. In fact, in Kfar Darom, Netzarim, and other settlements, PA bulldozers moved in after hundreds attacked the synagogues.

Salamh Mansour, 34, found the anger of the mainly young crowds understandable, even inevitable. "They are only expressing the rage they could never express during the terrible occupation," he said. "Besides," he added, pointing to the abandoned Neve Dekalim synagogue, "is this really a holy place? Look what's written on the walls in Hebrew and Arabic — 'Death to Arabs!'

There were spontaneous celebrations as the Israeli tanks rolled out of Gaza — flags flying in and out of the settlements, shots fired in the air, even fireworks. An official "handover" ceremony slated for Sunday, in which the departing Israeli commanders would formally hand control to the PA, was cancelled when the Palestinian Authority announced it would not take part. So many questions of border control are still unresolved that the Palestinian government felt any ceremony would be a sham.

Of course, that didn't prevent the politicians from making speeches. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called it a "day of joy," and said, "We are seeing soldiers, tanks and Israeli military vehicles leaving our land and the Israeli flag lowered and replaced for always by the Palestinian flag. Much work still needs to be done but nothing can take away from this victory."

Israel's Gaza divisional commander General Avi Kochavi was the last to go through the Kissufim crossing and he too could not resist making a short speech, calling the Israeli Army withdrawal after decades of bloody conflict the "end of an era." "From now on, the responsibility for what happens in the Gaza Strip lies in the hands of the Palestinian Authority." Of course, under international law, Gaza is still technically under occupation, as Palestine does not control the borders, the airspace, or the seacoast.

The Rafah border crossing to Egypt has been closed and Israel plans to open a new crossing where it can still monitor the passage of goods. In principle, Israeli has accepted that the Rafah passenger crossing will be administered jointly by the Egyptians and the Palestinians, although as of this writing, the crossing remains closed. A first contingent of border guards from Egypt has arrived, with the full 750-deployment promised by the end of the week.

There are unquestionably benefits to the people of Gaza in the Israeli withdrawal — the end to the hated checkpoints, so people can move freely through the Gaza Strip, and a restoration of land to those families and farmers whose homes, fields, and groves were appropriated by the growing settlements.

"I'm so happy that I can't find the words to describe how I feel," said Captain Mohammed from the Palestinianian security services. " I just hope the West Bank and Jerusalem will follow."

President Abbas has said the same. But in fact, the unilateral move to evacuate the settlements — in which the world saw endless footage of distraught settlers dragged from their homes — is seen by many Palestinians as a ploy to freeze further negotiations.

President Abbas has constantly stated that the peace process must be re-started, but the fact that a recent poll shows 84% of Palestinians believe the Gaza withdrawal was the result of the armed resistance of the Intifada, coupled with Sharon's intransigence on the West Bank and East Jerusalem — where the conflict continues and the hated separation wall grows larger daily -- points to an uncertain future.

Gaza is still exactly as Sharon wants it: all perimeters under his control, surrounded by the Israeli Army who can reinvade within hours, and Palestinian sovereignty at best a "maybe . . . someday." Abbas is to follow Sharon's agenda and "crack down on terrorism" while the people of Gaza are to be docile prisoners.

Still, these very real concerns could not dim the pure joy throughout Gaza Monday. On the Gaza beach, the mother of two children killed by the IOF in Khan Younis said, "Thank God we got our land back, thank God we have some of our rights now, even if they're far from complete."

At the Morag settlement near Gaza City, 65-year-old Mohammed Duhair, so frail he must lean on his grandson when he walks, made the painful effort to kneel so he could actually touch the earth with shaking hands. "Thank God," he cried, "thank God we got our land back. It is a gift from God that I can see my land again before I die."

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