1. Monday, September 12, 2005 -- “After 38 years, IDF leaving Gaza today”
"The disengagement decision holds hope for a better future; it transfers responsibility for the Strip to the Palestinians, who will be in charge of their destiny [said IDF Chief of Staff Dan Halutz] . . . Their true test will be to prevent terror.”
2. Tuesday, September 13, 2005 -- “Palestinians torch Gush Katif synagogues”
Before dawn yesterday, Palestinian gunmen climbed on the roof of the Netzarim synagogue and raised flags of militant groups. They chanted, "God is great," and "We don't want anything to remind us of the occupation."
They then set the Netzarim synagogue ablaze.Palestinian police stood by and watched, admitting they were outnumbered by the crowds and had little motivation to stop them.
3. Wednesday, September 14, 2005 -- “Abbas plans to dismantle armed PA factions, end chaos”
Abbas, in honor of the completion of the Israeli pullout from the
Gaza Strip . . . declared, "From this day forth, there will be no more security turmoil and weapons chaos and abductions, which are not characteristic of our culture." . . . .
On the eve of the IDF withdrawal, when Israel closed the Rafah crossing, Palestinian Minister Mohammed Dahlan, who was in charge of coordinating the withdrawal, said the Palestinians were ready to deal with any scenario and would not accept external pressure regarding traffic to and from Gaza.
4. Thursday, September 15, 2005 – “Israel fears unfettered Al-Qaida infiltration via Rafah”
The collapse of the Gaza-Egyptian border in the three days since
Israel withdrew from the Strip, which has allowed thousands of Palestinians to enter Sinai and numerous Egyptians to enter Gaza, is extremely worrisome to Jerusalem. Israel is fearful not only of massive arms smuggling into
Gaza, and consequently to the West Bank, but also, and particularly, that Al-Qaida operatives will be able to enter Gaza freely. . . .
[L]arge quantities of rocket-propelled grenade launchers were brought in. It is also known that various organizations -- not only Hamas, but also the Palestinian security services -- had large arms caches in Sinai awaiting an opportunity for them to be smuggled over the border.
5. Friday, September 16, 2005 – “Egyptian police seen improving border patrol”
Palestinian security forces are doing little to combat the illicit traffic, and nothing has been done yet to seal the gaps along the border made by Hamas activists.
6. Sunday, September 18, 2005 --– “PA, Egypt may reopen Rafah crossing without Israeli approval”
Israel's security establishment believes the terror organizations have smuggled in weapons that upset the balance of power, in particular long-range Katyusha rockets and Strella antiaircraft missiles.
Military sources admitted they have no credible intelligence information, but said hundreds of rifles and hundreds of thousands of ammunition rounds have been brought in, and it is highly likely that antitank missiles have also reached Gaza.
Masked Palestinian Hamas militants display their weapons during a parade in
Palestinian militants from the military wing of Hamas march in Gaza city September 18, 2005. Thousands of armed Hamas militants marched through
Excellent commentary. What amazes me is that this was all so obvious to us "simple folk" but was too complex for the rest of the civilized world.
My Dear President Bush, I love you and what you have done for America and Israel, but you have just become a sponsor of a terroris state.
Posted by: Moish Perl | September 19, 2005 at 08:03 AM
Those photos are nothing short of frightening. And hardly surprising.
Posted by: Isaac B2 | September 19, 2005 at 09:24 PM