Sad, if predictable, news from Gaza

Anyone who thought that Sharon’s decision to withdraw from Gaza was a move towards peace will be ruing their naivety. Those of us whose cynicism, or worldly experience, runs deeper will have had our pessimism confirmed.

The process of removal of the settlers was instructive. Each one was carefully nursed out of their homes, helped to pack by the Israeli Defence Forces, and taken to resettlement centres with the promise of replacement homes. It was interesting to note that several of the most militant settlers interviewed on the television appeared to be refugees form that hotbed of anti-Semitism, Brooklyn; seeking refuge on other people’s land.

This removal process contrasts with the usual practice of the IDF in Gaza, to send in the Caterpillar Tractors at dawn with no warning, crushing homes, possessions and those inhabitants not nimble enough to escape in time. This process has been documented by the Israeli Committee against House Demolitions.

On 23 September, soon after the withdrawal, there was an explosion at a Hamas rally killing 15. Responsibility for the explosion was contested, although the usually reliable Alternative Information Centre reported that the Palestinian Authority declared it was an accidental explosion of Hamas material rather than an Israeli attack.

In any case, the Hamas response of firing rockets from Gaza into Israel was ill-judged, even if it resulted in no fatalities, as it provoked a far greater Israeli response which was far from fatality free. By 26 September Hamas appeared to realise their error as they speedily asserted they were re-instating their case-fire; the Israelis however did not: continuing to attack and bomb and to launch attacks within the West Bank. Sharon was determined not to be out-flanked by Netanyahu, showing he still wore the mantle of butcher of Sabra and Shatila, lightly and would not give up leadership in killing without a struggle andwould fight to the last Palestinian. Read Uri Avnery's description of the 'struggle' between Sharon and Netanyahu

Sharon made no secret that the withdrawal from Gaza was tactical and was only undertaken to enable the easier defence of the larger and more valuable West Bank settlements. Construction on the West Bank is unabated and theft of Palestinian land, especially round Jerusalem, continues.

The closure of the Gaza settlements appears to be creating a situation even worse than many of us expected: a free fire zone. The latest IDF tactic is supersonic over flying of Gaza in the middle of the night, creating distress to the residents. A move that was impossible while Israelis lived within the strip. See electronicintifada's report from a Gaza doctor of Israeli pressure on Gaza.