Israeli army razes last Gaza posts as pull-out looms

The Israeli army blew up its last military posts in the Gaza Strip yesterday in final preparations for completing a pull-out early next week after 38 years of occupation.

Residents on both sides of the Israel-Gaza border were shaken out of bed by loud blasts as troops dynamited several security offices in the north of the territory, a precursor to turning over the razed settlements to the Palestinians.

Military sources said the withdrawal, following on the heels of 8,500 Jewish settlers evacuated last month, should begin tomorrow and will be over in 24 hours.

But Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz said the pull-out, marking Israel's first uprooting of settlements on land the Palestinians want for a state, could be delayed a day because of uncertainty over the fate of the 25 synagogues in the former enclaves.

It is an emotionally charged issue for Israelis worried that the Jewish houses of worship might be desecrated by Palestinians if left intact. "It is very difficult for me to give the order to destroy synagogues," Mr Mofaz told Israel Radio.

US mediators hope the withdrawal under Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's "disengagement" plan will serve as a catalyst for renewed peacemaking. But Palestinians are watching with a mixture of joy and scepticism. They fear Israel is trading tiny Gaza for a permanent hold on much larger swathes of the occupied West Bank where 245,000 settlers live.

In Gaza City, scores of loyalists fired in the air and vowed revenge as ex-security chief Moussa Arafat, cousin of the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, was buried two days after gunmen dragged him from his house and killed him in the street.

The assassination of Mr Arafat, whom his killers accused of corruption and collaboration with Israel, underlined the turmoil in the Gaza Strip and increased fears of internal strife after Israel completes its pull-out.

It could also bode ill when Gazans take to the streets in celebration after the Israelis leave. The Palestinian Authority's official celebrations will have to compete with parades by militants claiming victory over the Jewish state.

Rejecting an appeal by leading rabbis, Israel's High Court on Thursday cleared away the last legal obstacle to the pull-out when it backed the government's plan to demolish synagogues in the Gaza settlements.

But Mr Mofaz put the demolitions on hold, saying the cabinet would have the last word tomorrow. The rabbis had argued that ritual law forbade Jews from destroying synagogues.

Some were the scene of clashes last month pitting troops against hardline settlers who said the evacuation betrayed a biblical birthright and rewarded Palestinian violence. Settlers had lived isolated from Gaza's 1.4 million Palestinians.

Mr Mofaz said he preferred Palestinian officials to take responsibility for the synagogues, but they have refused.

The army pressed ahead with pull-out preparations, taking down a bridge leading to the now-abandoned settlements before setting to work blowing up bunkers and packing up equipment.

Troops were also removing an array of watchtowers, one of the most hated symbols of occupation to the Palestinians.