Da Ha'aretz del 12/09/2005
Originale su http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/623971.html

Hundreds of Palestinians flood Egypt-Gaza border

di Arnon Regular

Hundreds of Palestinians flocked to the Gaza-Egypt border at Rafah on Monday, hours after the last Israel Defense Forces troops left the Gaza Strip, ending 38 years of military rule there.

Some climbed ropes and clambered over walls into Egypt to join a chaotic celebration.

Later Monday, Egyptian presidential spokesman Suleiman Awad denied reports from Palestinian witnesses that its border guards had shot dead a Palestinian at the frontier.

There were conflicting reports on the age of the Palestinian casualty, identified as Adnan Atiya. Gaza hospital officials said he was an adult, while according to Palestinian security officials, he was a 14-year-old boy.

Egyptian security officials said they allowed the crossings to take place as a "humanitarian" gesture to families who had been separated for years. The officials also suggested the free, unchecked crossings would be short-lived as Egypt deploys 750 heavily armed troops to secure its border with Gaza.

Among those crossing the Egyptian border were purported members of Hamas, who waved the group's green flag on Egyptian territory, raising immediate concern over Egypt's ability to meet Israeli demands to prevent militants from crossing the border.

IDF soldiers long guarded the high walls splitting Rafah against cross-border infiltrators smuggling weapons and other contraband from Egypt into the volatile Palestinian territory.

Joyous Palestinians flooded into empty settlements while others headed straight for the beach.

Palestinian teens Mahmoud Barbakh and Mohammed Jaroun grew up just a few minutes from the Mediterranean, but had never been to the beach before.

On Monday, they waded into the waves with their jeans rolled up, then abandoned all caution and threw themselves into the surf. "It was the sweetest thing in the whole world," said 15-year-old Mahmoud, beaming.

Israel pulled the last of its troops out of Gaza early Monday. The Israeli settlements in Gaza were evacuated last month and their 7,000 residents relocated.

Hundreds of Palestinians enjoyed the water off the Gaza coast, some at the former beachfront settlement of Shirat Hayam. One used a refrigerator door as a makeshift surfboard. Nearby, youngsters collected spent Israeli bullet casings, stuffing them into empty bottles.

Mohammed Deir, 41, said he closed his building supplies store in celebration. "The only job I have today is to go to the beach and the border," he said, as an Israel Navy boat patrolled off the coast.

But the outings were marred when five youths drowned in heavy surf they were not used to, Palestinian medics said.

The evacuation did not seem to make much difference to the hours-long queues at the main checkpoint on Gaza's north-south road; the Abu Holi checkpoint was still gridlocked Monday, with hundreds of cars backed up in each direction.

The dozen or so Palestinian policemen posted at the checkpoint were unable to untangle traffic after thousands of Palestinians got in their cars, heading to beach picnics and tours of former border areas.

Aisha al-Farra, from the southern town of Khan Yunis, said she had already been waiting at Abu Holi for three hours, her second attempt of the day to cross the checkpoint. She said she was determined to get through, in hopes of reaching a small fruit orchard she said belonged to her family but had been off-limits during Israel's rule.

In Neveh Dekalim, the gray concrete synagogue shaped like a Star of David had an unexpected visitor: Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahar.

After the IDF troops left early Monday, hundreds of Palestinians poured into what had been the largest settlement in Gaza, which had already been demolished by Israel, with only the synagogue and a seminary left standing.

"Before, this was a symbol of fear and evil. Today it's a place to visit and a source of happiness," said construction worker Abdullah Salah, 35, in Neveh Dekalim.

Palestinians set fire to several empty synagogue buildings in Gaza before dawn. Israel on Sunday reversed an earlier cabinet decision to demolish the synagogues as part of the disengagement from Gaza.

In what he said was a show of triumph, Zahar performed Muslim prayers in the synagogue Monday.

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