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Israeli troops pull out of gaza after weeklong raid { May 25 2004 }

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   http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2004/05/25/international0453EDT0460.DTL

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2004/05/25/international0453EDT0460.DTL

Israeli troops abruptly pull out of Gaza refugee camp, after weeklong raid
- IBRAHIM BARZAK, Associated Press Writer
Tuesday, May 25, 2004


(05-25) 04:12 PDT RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) --

Israeli troops abruptly left this refugee camp without completing a sweep for arms smuggling tunnels, prompting growing criticism in Israel on Tuesday that the military has little to show for a weeklong offensive that drew worldwide condemnation.

Estimates of the number of houses demolished in the raid varied greatly. The United Nations said 45 buildings were razed, while Palestinian officials said about 300 houses were destroyed. Israel said 56 homes were demolished or damaged.

It was difficult to obtain an independent estimate, because areas of demolition are scattered throughout the camp. Also, 45 Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire, including at least 17 gunmen and 12 children under 16, according to hospital doctors.

Israeli Vice Premier Ehud Olmert, meanwhile, said a one-vote majority is emerging in the divided Cabinet in favor of a Gaza withdrawal. The Cabinet is to vote on the plan next week, and Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has been struggling to secure a majority. Earlier this month, his Likud Party rejected a Gaza pullout.

Sharon has insisted that he would not negotiate the terms of a pullback with the Palestinian Authority. However, Egypt on Monday emerged as a key mediator. Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman met with Sharon and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, relaying messages between the sides and saying Egypt is willing to play a major role in assuring security in Gaza and an orderly transfer of power.

Suleiman urged skeptical Palestinian leaders to go along with Sharon's plan of "unilateral disengagement," which would also include a withdrawal from four West Bank settlements, according to Palestinian officials.

Arafat promised to prepare a Gaza security plan by June 15, to show he is capable of running the coastal strip after an Israeli pullback, the officials said.

Sharon's push for a Gaza withdrawal came despite the Rafah offensive, launched a week ago, after 13 Israeli soldiers were killed in Gaza. Rafah abuts the border with Egypt, and troops raided the camp in search of tunnels. The army has said it is crucial to destroy the tunnels to cut of the flow of weapons to militants.

Military commentators said the operation achieved little of what it set out to do, at a very high price -- both in Palestinian suffering and harm to Israel's image.

The army said it found three arms smuggling tunnels, acknowledging several more remained hidden in Rafah. No large stockpiles of weapons were discovered. Hundreds of Palestinian gunmen slipped through the Israeli dragnet.

The army's sudden departure, without completing the search for tunnels, "is to a great extent a failure," wrote commentator Amir Rappaport in the Maariv daily.

Roni Daniel, military correspondent for Israel TV's Channel Two, quoted a field commander as saying troops moved in the camp like a "bull in a china shop" and destroyed dozens of greenhouses for no reason.

Matan Vilnai, a retired general and opposition legislator, said smuggling can only be stopped in coordination with Egypt and the Palestinians. "We must understand that not everything can be solved by force," Vilnai told Israel Army Radio.

Maj. Gen. Dan Harel, the Gaza commander, suggested troops might return to Gaza after a brief respite. Military officials said they believe there are about 10 tunnels in Rafah. The army says it has destroyed about 90 tunnels in more than three years of fighting.

In the Brazil neighborhood of Rafah, residents surveyed the damage Tuesday, including large piles of rubble and torn-up streets. Bulldozers tried to clear streets to allow workers to restore electricity and repair water and sewage pipes.

Said Zaghoub, the mayor of the adjacent town of Rafah, said about 300 houses were demolished in the camp and 200 more so seriously damaged they can no longer be lived in.

The mayor said he did not have an estimate of the number of people made homeless, except to say 500 families lived in the 300 homes razed completely.

However, the U.N. Relief and Works Agency, which cares for refugees, said it knew only of 45 houses demolished in the past week. The destruction made 575 people homeless, the agency said.

U.N. officials said that in more than three years of fighting, Israel has demolished 1,354 buildings in Rafah, making more than 13,000 Palestinians homeless.

Mustafa Arja, 45, said bulldozers knocked down the wall around his small garden and that he and his family lived in fear for several days that their home would be demolished as well. Arja said that even though he was spared this time, he fears the soldiers will be back. "We expect them any time," he said.




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19 palestinians killed as israel troops descend on gaza strip { May 18 2004 }
Car hit by israeli missile in helicopter strike { May 11 2004 }
Explosion rips through crowd of palestinians { May 19 2004 }
Gaza killings continue { May 21 2004 }
Hamas discovered renewed strength { April 25 2004 }
Hamas displays israeli soldiers remains
Hamas pledges revenge for leaders killing
Homes of 1100 palestinians in gaza destroyed
Israel hits gaza isolates rafah for demolitions { May 17 2004 }
Israel kills 11 palestinians in missile strikes { May 13 2004 }
Israel launches biggest attack
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Israeli helicopter attacks gaza building { May 2 2004 }
Israeli occupation compeltely unacceptable says UN { May 22 2004 }
Israeli tanks move into rafah refugee camp
Israeli tanks troops move into gaza camp { May 18 2004 }
Israeli troops kill 3 palestinian gunmen
Israeli troops pull out of gaza after weeklong raid { May 25 2004 }
Israelis uproot palestinian olive grove { April 7 2004 }
Killings make hamas more formidable { April 25 2004 }
Rafah males must gather in school or houses demolished { May 19 2004 }
Six soldiers killed in gaza city battle { May 11 2004 }
Thousands of palestinians bury 23 killed in rafah { May 24 2004 }

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