Gaza joy erupts as Israeli rule ends

JOYOUS Gazans flooded into empty Jewish settlements yesterday and Palestinians clambered over walls to the Egyptian side to join a chaotic celebration of the end of 38 years of Israeli military rule over the Gaza Strip.

Plans by Palestinian police to bar crowds from the settlements quickly disintegrated. Militants hoisted flags, fired wildly into the air and set abandoned synagogues ablaze, illustrating concerns about the security forces’ ability to control growing chaos in Gaza. The pull-out is widely seen as a test for Palestinian aspirations of statehood.

Among those crossing were purported members of the radical Islamic group, Hamas, who waved the group's green flag on Egyptian territory.

Security officials suggested the crossings would be short-lived as Egypt deploys 750 heavily armed troops to secure its border with Gaza.

Before nightfall, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas arrived and raised a Palestinian flag.

At one point, a group of people chanted around a large Hamas flag on the Egyptian side. But the dance came to a sudden halt after a celebratory burst of gunfire on the Palestinian side.

Egyptian border guards shot and killed a Palestinian along the Gaza-Egypt border, authorities said.

Elsewhere, doctors said three Palestinians drowned off the Gaza coast as hundreds rushed to the beach after Israeli troops pulled out. The beach in southern Gaza had been off-limits to Palestinians for years.

The last column of Israeli tanks rumbled out of Gaza just before sunrise, completing the withdrawal.

As soldiers poured out of Gaza, jubilant Palestinians rushed into the abandoned settlements.

"Today is a day of joy and happiness," Abbas said.

No people crossed through the main Rafah border crossing point, which Israel has closed indefinitely.

The Palestinians are demanding the crossing be opened, saying it is the gateway for Gaza's 1.3 million Palestinians to the outside world. Palestinians hope to build their state in Gaza, the West Bank and east Jerusalem - areas Israel captured in the 1967 Mideast War - but fear Israel will not hand over more territory. The Palestinians want control over the Gaza-Egypt border, saying free movement is essential for rebuilding Gaza's shattered economy. Israel wants to retain some control. Palestinians torched synagogues in the Morag, Kfar Darom and Netzarim settlements, as well as a Jewish seminary in Neve Dekalim. Later, a Palestinian bulldozer knocked down the walls of the Netzarim synagogue.

"They (Israelis) destroyed our homes and our mosques. Today it is our turn to destroy theirs," said one man in Neve Dekalim.