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Israel is Out of Gaza
Palestinians assume control over security in Gaza
By ARIEH O'SULLIVAN AND MARGOT DUDKEVITCH
Gaza Strip
The last IDF vehicle rolled out of the Gaza Strip through the Kissufim crossing at 6:40 a.m. Monday, marking an end to 38 years of military presence in the area.
Addressing officers, soldiers and reporters at the Karni crossing, Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz said, "Today 38 years of Israeli occupation of Gaza have ended. I am full of hope that when the gates of Gaza reopen, they will be gates of peace."
The final military pullout from Gaza, which started late Sunday night, was completed in just under six hours. No soldiers were injured during the pullout, which ended officially at 7:04 a.m., when two soldiers from Givati's Rotem brigade closed and locked the Kissufim gate.
Troops raised the Israeli flag, removed from Gaza military headquarters, on the Israeli side of coastal strip.
Prior to the closing of the gate, two bulldozers filled the road near the gate with large mounds of earth.
In the distance, on the road leading to the crossing, scores of Palestinians began heading to the gate.
The Palestinians in Gaza had woken up to a new reality Monday morning, as Gaza was entirely under PA control.
"The presence in the Gaza Strip was a historic mistake, from start to finish," Vice Premier Shimon Peres told Army Radio on Monday morning.
Shortly after the first IDF convoy passed into Israel from the Gaza Strip early Monday morning, Maj.-Gen. Yisrael Ziv declared, "The great moment has arrived – troops are pulling out with power and in an orderly fashion, just as we expected."
"However, everyone feels a pinch in their hearts," he continued.
Ziv noted that the pullout had gone according to plan, partly due to the many months of coordination on all levels with the Palestinians.
Brig.-Gen. Aviv Kohavi addressed the crowd of soldiers and media gathered outside of the Kissufim crossing once the last soldier had passed through the gate and it had been locked.
"The soldiers that you have seen are the last ones to leave the Gaza Strip. The mission is completed and an era has ended."
Kochavi continued: "From this moment on, the responsibility of all that takes place in the Gaza Strip lays on the Palestinians."
"The responsibility for the security of Israel is ours," he assured the crowd.
By 3:30 a.m., army forces had finished pulling out of northern Gaza.
Convoys of heavy vehicles rolled through the Kissufim crossing at 2:50 a.m., as the IDF initiated its exit from the Gaza Strip.
At the Kissufim crossing – formerly the main entrance to Gush Katif - convoys rolled through the new electronic gate, which was finished being built only Sunday afternoon. The convoys made their way in a restrained, professional manner under the direction of Lt.-Cmdr. Shaul.
Shortly before midnight, the code words ashmoret aharona (the last watch) were transmitted across military radios, triggering the IDF withdrawal.
During the night, hundreds of tanks, armored personnel carriers and jeeps were ordered to roll intermittently toward the nearest gate out of Gaza. Starting with the furthest and most isolated settlements, most came through the main crossing at Kissufim, guided by glowing light sticks so they would not lose their way.
The atmosphere was markedly different than the army's exit from Lebanon; there were no phone calls to mom and no flag-waving this time, and all activity was under the eye of scores of journalists. Periodically, flares illuminated the sky and gunfire was heard, meant to deter Palestinians from nearing the army forces.
OC Southern Command Maj.-Gen. Dan Harel addressed the crowd standing near Kissufim, adding to the bittersweet atmosphere. He reminded those present of the people who were notably not present: "We have to remember our fallen - those who fell here over the past 38 years for the sake of Israel's citizens and its security. They are in our hearts, and we wish full recovery to the wounded."
While he was speaking, crowds of Palestinians waving Hamas and Islamic Jihad flags gathered on the other side of the Kissufim crossing. They filled the roads that they had previously been unable to traverse.
During the early hours on Monday, the troops pulled out in an inverted column, creating a "U" formation as they exited. Soldiers who had departed were on the ramparts watching the pullout and placing flags on the new Kissufim gate, and the crossing was hosed down every so often because of the colossal amounts of dust created by all the heavy vehicles rolling through.
Army forces in the settlements furthest from Israel left Gaza first, starting with Tel Katifa and Ganei Tal, and concluding with Kfar Darom and then Neveh Dekalim.
By 2:35 a.m. armored vehicles, jeeps, armored personnel carriers, and tanks were seen at the Kissufim crossing.
Harel, speaking after the gates had been locked, said there were only two ways "these gates" would reopen. One was if there was peace and coexistence – a possibility over which he sounded dubious – and the other was if there had to be an offensive action.
Troops were leaving the area from four crossings: Kerem Shalom in the south, the Erez and Karni crossings in northern Gaza, and the Kissufim crossing in central Gaza.
After the forces completed the pullout, troops took up positions along the newly defined border that encompasses the Gaza Strip.
Kochavi praised the troops continuing their service: "The very same soldiers that left the gate are those deploying along the new line; they are alert and ready to fulfill any mission and face any challenge."
By ARIEH O'SULLIVAN AND MARGOT DUDKEVITCH
Gaza Strip
The last IDF vehicle rolled out of the Gaza Strip through the Kissufim crossing at 6:40 a.m. Monday, marking an end to 38 years of military presence in the area.
Addressing officers, soldiers and reporters at the Karni crossing, Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz said, "Today 38 years of Israeli occupation of Gaza have ended. I am full of hope that when the gates of Gaza reopen, they will be gates of peace."
The final military pullout from Gaza, which started late Sunday night, was completed in just under six hours. No soldiers were injured during the pullout, which ended officially at 7:04 a.m., when two soldiers from Givati's Rotem brigade closed and locked the Kissufim gate.
Troops raised the Israeli flag, removed from Gaza military headquarters, on the Israeli side of coastal strip.
Prior to the closing of the gate, two bulldozers filled the road near the gate with large mounds of earth.
In the distance, on the road leading to the crossing, scores of Palestinians began heading to the gate.
The Palestinians in Gaza had woken up to a new reality Monday morning, as Gaza was entirely under PA control.
"The presence in the Gaza Strip was a historic mistake, from start to finish," Vice Premier Shimon Peres told Army Radio on Monday morning.
Shortly after the first IDF convoy passed into Israel from the Gaza Strip early Monday morning, Maj.-Gen. Yisrael Ziv declared, "The great moment has arrived – troops are pulling out with power and in an orderly fashion, just as we expected."
"However, everyone feels a pinch in their hearts," he continued.
Ziv noted that the pullout had gone according to plan, partly due to the many months of coordination on all levels with the Palestinians.
Brig.-Gen. Aviv Kohavi addressed the crowd of soldiers and media gathered outside of the Kissufim crossing once the last soldier had passed through the gate and it had been locked.
"The soldiers that you have seen are the last ones to leave the Gaza Strip. The mission is completed and an era has ended."
Kochavi continued: "From this moment on, the responsibility of all that takes place in the Gaza Strip lays on the Palestinians."
"The responsibility for the security of Israel is ours," he assured the crowd.
By 3:30 a.m., army forces had finished pulling out of northern Gaza.
Convoys of heavy vehicles rolled through the Kissufim crossing at 2:50 a.m., as the IDF initiated its exit from the Gaza Strip.
At the Kissufim crossing – formerly the main entrance to Gush Katif - convoys rolled through the new electronic gate, which was finished being built only Sunday afternoon. The convoys made their way in a restrained, professional manner under the direction of Lt.-Cmdr. Shaul.
Shortly before midnight, the code words ashmoret aharona (the last watch) were transmitted across military radios, triggering the IDF withdrawal.
During the night, hundreds of tanks, armored personnel carriers and jeeps were ordered to roll intermittently toward the nearest gate out of Gaza. Starting with the furthest and most isolated settlements, most came through the main crossing at Kissufim, guided by glowing light sticks so they would not lose their way.
The atmosphere was markedly different than the army's exit from Lebanon; there were no phone calls to mom and no flag-waving this time, and all activity was under the eye of scores of journalists. Periodically, flares illuminated the sky and gunfire was heard, meant to deter Palestinians from nearing the army forces.
OC Southern Command Maj.-Gen. Dan Harel addressed the crowd standing near Kissufim, adding to the bittersweet atmosphere. He reminded those present of the people who were notably not present: "We have to remember our fallen - those who fell here over the past 38 years for the sake of Israel's citizens and its security. They are in our hearts, and we wish full recovery to the wounded."
While he was speaking, crowds of Palestinians waving Hamas and Islamic Jihad flags gathered on the other side of the Kissufim crossing. They filled the roads that they had previously been unable to traverse.
During the early hours on Monday, the troops pulled out in an inverted column, creating a "U" formation as they exited. Soldiers who had departed were on the ramparts watching the pullout and placing flags on the new Kissufim gate, and the crossing was hosed down every so often because of the colossal amounts of dust created by all the heavy vehicles rolling through.
Army forces in the settlements furthest from Israel left Gaza first, starting with Tel Katifa and Ganei Tal, and concluding with Kfar Darom and then Neveh Dekalim.
By 2:35 a.m. armored vehicles, jeeps, armored personnel carriers, and tanks were seen at the Kissufim crossing.
Harel, speaking after the gates had been locked, said there were only two ways "these gates" would reopen. One was if there was peace and coexistence – a possibility over which he sounded dubious – and the other was if there had to be an offensive action.
Troops were leaving the area from four crossings: Kerem Shalom in the south, the Erez and Karni crossings in northern Gaza, and the Kissufim crossing in central Gaza.
After the forces completed the pullout, troops took up positions along the newly defined border that encompasses the Gaza Strip.
Kochavi praised the troops continuing their service: "The very same soldiers that left the gate are those deploying along the new line; they are alert and ready to fulfill any mission and face any challenge."
Israel had said that since there are no more Jews in the Gaza Strip any attacks originating from it will be retaliated more harshly than in the past and threatened to "open the gates" again under should attacks continue.
But Israel's threats are not worth the minutes spent talking about them on TV. Two rockets were already fired from Gaza to a town and a kibbutz nearby.
Also, the Palestinians are currently busy desecrating the 25 synagogues left in Gaza and there are worries that this will prompt Jewish extremists to retaliate against mosques in Israel.
Discuss.
at least 2 times in a sentence... along with ellipses....
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