Dispute Mars Gaza Handover

Israel's Cabinet voted Sunday to end military rule over the Gaza Strip after 38 years of occupation, but the final phase of the historic pullout was marred by bitter disputes with the Palestinians over border arrangements and the future status of the impoverished coastal territory.

Israel canceled a military handover ceremony set for Sunday afternoon after the Palestinians said they would not attend. The Palestinians said they were staying away to protest against Israel's closure last week of vital Gaza border crossing and a last-minute decision by the Cabinet on Sunday not to demolish about two dozen synagogues in abandoned Jewish settlements in Gaza.

"They throw these two problems in our faces, and it's really unfair," said Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat.

The Palestinian Authority will destroy the synagogues left behind by evacuating Israeli troops, a Palestinian Interior Ministry spokesman said Sunday, hours after the Israeli Cabinet voted not to demolish the synagogues.

All remaining buildings in the evacuated Jewish settlements will be destroyed except for the greenhouses, the spokesman, Tawfiq Abu Khoussa, told The Associated Press.

The Palestinians have expressed dismay at the Israeli Cabinet decision, saying it puts them in an impossible position because they may be criticized for destroying houses of worship but at the same time they need the space for their development plans for post-Israel Gaza.

Israel says it is ending its military occupation of Gaza on Monday when the last Israeli soldiers are to leave. However, the Palestinians say Israel will continue to control Gaza's airspace, territorial waters and border passages, and this essentially means the occupation has not ended.

"As long as the border crossing is closed, we consider Gaza still occupied," said Sufian Abu Zaydeh, a Palestinian Cabinet minister.

In preparation for the Israeli pullout, some 15,000 Palestinian troops were to deploy around the abandoned Jewish settlements by early Monday to keep out large Palestinian crowds. Security officials have said they want to secure the area before allowing mass celebrations.

Meanwhile, some 200 Egyptian border guards have taken up position along the Gaza border to prevent arms smuggling and illicit crossings. An additional 550 Egyptian soldiers are to be assigned to the frontier in the coming week.

The increased troop presence also is aimed at making the border area secure after Israel's imminent military withdrawal from its side of the flashpoint zone.

Egypt's security presence along its side of the Gaza border has been limited under the country's 1979 peace agreement with Israel. But the two countries reached an agreement last month to bring in the 750 soldiers and permit them to carry heavy machine guns and rocket propelled grenade launchers.

Egyptians and Palestinians at the contentious border strip welcomed the Egyptian deployment, saying it could help bolster the struggling Palestinian economy and help local Egyptian businesses. The Rafah border crossing is the main gateway for Gaza's 1.3 million Palestinians to the outside world.

Sunday's Cabinet vote to end military rule over Gaza was largely symbolic. Israel has already withdrawn all of its 8,500 Jewish settlers from Gaza, leaving only a small military presence there. But the unanimous decision finalized the historic withdrawal nearly two years after Prime Minister Ariel Sharon first proposed the pullout.

The withdrawal also marks the first time the Palestinians will have control over a large, defined territory. They hope to build their state in Gaza, the West Bank and east Jerusalem, areas that Israel captured in the 1967 Mideast War. However, the Palestinians fear that after the Gaza pullout, Israel will not hand over additional territory.

The Palestinians want full control over the Gaza-Egypt border after Israel's withdrawal, saying free movement of people and goods is essential for rebuilding Gaza's shattered economy. Israel wants to retain some control, at least temporarily, fearing that militants will smuggle weapons into Gaza.

Israel last week unilaterally closed the Rafah border crossing, the main gateway for Gaza's 1.3 million Palestinians, to the outside world.

Last week, Israel agreed in principle that foreign observers could eventually replace Israeli inspectors at Rafah. However, Israel said it could be months before the border reopens, and that a final deal would depend on Palestinian willingness to crack down on militant groups. In the meantime, it plans to reroute border traffic through alternate Israeli-controlled crossings and turning security control of the border to Egyptian forces.

The Israeli Cabinet also voted 14-2 against demolishing the synagogues, even though many of the ministers previously approved the demolition as part of the pullout. Critics said last-minute political considerations, including a desire to win the support of leading rabbis ahead of general elections, prompted several Cabinet members to change their minds.

The Palestinians have detailed plans for the settlement areas, and the synagogues would be in the way.

"Symbols of the occupation have to be taken down," Hisham Abdel Razek, a Palestinian lawmaker, told Israel's Army Radio.

However, Palestinians fear international criticism if they demolish the buildings or if the structures are defaced by Palestinian crowds targeting symbols of occupation.

Cabinet Minister Haim Ramon said the rabbis are aware that the Palestinians will likely knock down the buildings later on. "They (rabbis) know the terrible consequences for Israeli-Palestinian relations if the Palestinians will demolish the synagogues," Ramon told Army Radio.

Israeli construction crews, meanwhile, were fortifying the border with Gaza with a massive 30-foot concrete barrier to prevent infiltrations. Gaza is already separate from Israel by a large fence.

Israel threatened on Saturday to deliver an unprecedentedly harsh response to any attacks from Gaza after Israeli troops leave the territory.