Disputes Overshadow Gaza Handover

Israeli troops lowered their national banner and snapped farewell photos in the final phase of the historic Gaza pullout Sunday, as thousands of Palestinian troops, onlookers and gunmen assembled nearby, eager to take control after 38 years of Israeli military occupation.

The first army convoys left Gaza after sundown Sunday. Military jeeps and armored bulldozers drove slowly through the Kissufim crossing point, marking the beginning of the end of Israel's presence in Gaza.

But the withdrawal, code-named "Last Watch," was overshadowed by Israeli-Palestinian disputes, including over border arrangements and Israel's last-minute decision not to demolish Gaza synagogues. The army was forced to cancel a former handover ceremony, initially set for Sunday, after angry Palestinians said they wouldn't show up.

There was also concern about last-minute bloodshed. A 12-year-old Palestinian boy was among four Palestinians wounded by Israeli army fire when a crowd got too close to the abandoned Gush Katif bloc of Jewish settlements. The Israeli commander in Gaza, Brig. Gen. Aviv Kochavi, warned against last-minute hitches, urging soldiers in a final meeting not to lose their cool or open fire hastily.

Maj. Gen. Dan Harel, the head of Israel's southern command, said Palestinians fired shots during an official ceremony closing the Gaza division headquarters in the abandoned settlement of Neve Dekalim. He warned there were indications that militants might try to attack withdrawing troops.

"We are trying to thwart them," Harel told The Associated Press. "As we speak now there are shots being fired in several different places," he said, adding that the Palestinian Authority is working with the army to keep the situation under control.

About 5,000 soldiers were still in Gaza on Sunday, and were to leave the strip by daybreak Monday.

The withdrawal marks the first time the Palestinians will have control over a 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. Gaza is seen as a testing ground for Palestinian aspirations of statehood, but many Palestinians fear that after the Gaza pullout, Israel will not hand over additional territory.

The Palestinians say the occupation is not really ending, noting that Israel will continue to control Gaza's airspace, territorial waters and border passages. "Despite Israeli claims to the contrary, the Gaza Strip will remain occupied Palestinian territory under international law," said Palestinian Cabinet minister Mohammed Dahlan.

Despite such claims, mosques throughout Gaza on Sunday blared chants praising the "liberation."

"It is only the first step to more liberation ... tomorrow we liberate all of Palestine," Gaza resident Mohammed Khamish Habboush shouted into a mosque loudspeaker. Palestinian fireworks lit up the sky over the abandoned Jewish settlement of Kfar Darom, in central Gaza.

Kochavi, the Israeli commander in Gaza, expressed hope the pullout would be a step toward peace.

"The gate that will close behind us is also the gate that will open," he said during the departure ceremony. "We hope it will be a gate of peace and quiet, a gate of hope and goodwill, a gate of neighborliness and if a bad wind breaks through then we will greet it with a force of troops ready and waiting."

Israeli and Palestinian security officers met late Sunday to coordinate the final details of the withdrawal. The sides agreed that as Israelis pull out, they will leave a trail of green triangular flags behind them, indicating the path the Palestinians should take as they enter, Israeli security officials said.

In the ruins of Neve Dekalim, once the largest Jewish settlement in Gaza, Israeli troops held the somber central farewell ceremony Sunday, saluting, lowering the Israeli flag and singing the national anthem as they closed army headquarters in Gaza.

The departure is a "historic opportunity for a better future for both peoples," Harel told the audience, including several bereaved parents whose sons were killed in fighting with Palestinians in Gaza.

Soldiers took snapshots of each other and smoldering piles of debris. One soldier said he was proud the pullout was taking place in an orderly manner, in contrast to the hasty retreat from Lebanon five years ago. "It's a matter of professionalism," said 2nd Lt. Sagiv Ofek.

On the Palestinian side, dozens of Palestinians troops set up positions on a sand dune, just south of Gaza City, near what was once the isolated settlement of Netzarim. One of the officers, Tarek Issa, waved a Palestinian flag. "I cannot wait to go and raise it inside. Today is the beginning of the victory," he said.

Palestinians stood on rooftops and balconies to witness the Israeli departure.

The day began with twin decisions in the Israeli Cabinet — to end military rule in Gaza and not to raze 19 synagogues in former Jewish settlements there.

The vote on the military rule was largely symbolic. Israel has already withdrawn all of its 8,500 settlers from Gaza, leaving only soldiers there.

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 turn over security control of the border to Egyptian forces, 750 of whom have deployed at the border this weekend.

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 influential rabbis ahead of general elections — prompted several Cabinet members to change their minds.

The Palestinians have detailed plans for the settlement areas. However, they fear international criticism if they demolish the synagogues or if they are defaced by Palestinian crowds.

Palestinian Interior Ministry spokesman Tawfiq Abu Khoussa told the AP late Sunday that the Palestinian Authority would demolish the synagogues.