GAZA: PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY SAYS ISRAEL INTENDS TO MAINTAIN ITS CONTROL IN GAZA AFTER PULLOUT

Record ID: 400115

  • Title: GAZA: PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY SAYS ISRAEL INTENDS TO MAINTAIN ITS CONTROL IN GAZA AFTER PULLOUT
  • Date: 14th August 2005
  • Summary: (W3) GAZA CITY, GAZA STRIP (AUGUST 13, 2005) (REUTERS) 1. GV GAZA CITY SKYLINE 0.04 2. SCU SIGN READING 'THE PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY, MINISTRY OF INFORMATION, PRESS CENTRE' 0.07 3. PALESTINIAN MINISTER OF INFORMATION NABIL SHAATH WALKING INTO ROOM 4. NABIL SHAATH SITTING AT TABLE AT NEWS CONFERENCE 0.21 5. (SOUNDBITE) (Englis
  • Embargoed: 29th August 2005 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: GAZA CITY, RAFAH, GAZA
  • City:
  • Country: Palestinian Territories
  • Reuters ID: LVA1XDWQAW61MF2EQO3DQO4ZINJ8
  • Story Text: Palestinian Authority says Israel intends to
    maintain its control in Gaza after pullout.



    Palestinian Minister Nabil Shaath said on Saturday (August 13, 2005)
    Israel continues to control Gaza's skies, land and sea. Elsewhere in Gaza on
    Saturday, Palestinian militant group Hamas vowed to continue its armed
    struggle after Israel's Gaza pullout.

    At a press conference in Gaza City, Palestinian Minister of Information
    Nabil Shaath said Israel maintains its grip on Gaza.

    "It (Gaza) is still legally under the full jurisdiction and
    protection of the 4th Geneva convention, if that's what you mean. It has not
    been fully liberated. The skies are still controlled by the Israelis. The
    airspace and the electromagnetic frequencies as well as the sea and also the
    access and entry points. And Israel has declared it will continue to have the
    privilege to reoccupy whenever it wants. That's really makes this area subject
    to the protection of the 4th Geneva convention."
    Hamas official Ahmed a-Sa'ati sent a message to Palestinians
    celebrating the impending withdrawal that resistance is key to ending
    occupation and achieving statehood.

    "Hamas confirms its adherence to resistance as a strategic option
    until the occupation retreats from our lands and holy places. Our movement
    reaffirms that it will protect its military apparatus, the Izz el-Deen
    Al-Qassam Brigades and its weapons and keep them for defending our land,"
    a-Sa'ati told a news conference attended by at least 10 co-founders and
    leaders of Hamas.

    Hamas showcased its leaders and political message on the heels of a
    Palestinian Authority-organised Gaza beachfront celebration on Friday (August
    12) of the planned Israeli pullout.

    Thousands attended the festivities during which President Mahmoud Abbas
    said the evacuation of all of Israel's 21 settlements in Gaza and four of 120
    in the West Bank would inevitably lead to the establishment of a Palestinian
    state.

    Palestinians welcome the withdrawal though they fear the plan is a ruse
    to trade tiny Gaza for much of the occupied West Bank and deny them the state
    they seek with Arab East Jerusalem as its capital.

    Meanwhile Palestinian security forces have readied contingents to be
    deployed near settlements with orders to prevent militant attacks during the
    evacuation.

    Palestinian security forces continued to train on Saturday for
    deployment across the Gaza Strip after Israel's withdrawal scheduled to begin
    on August 15.

    As part of the preparations a joint drill was held for three
    Palestinian security forces, police, riot police and Palestinian President
    Mahmoud Abbas' national security guard, in the city of Rafah.

    The new 5,000 strong force has been trained to help prevent a security
    vacuum after the Israelis withdraw and ensure order when thousands of
    Palestinians begin to pour into the former settlements to celebrate.

    Israeli officers have said a handover will take several weeks after all
    the settlements are evacuated and could take much longer if settler homes are
    to be demolished and any rubble removed.

    Palestinian security forces have been weakened during the
    four-and-a-half-year uprising against Israel, beset by infighting and accused
    of corruption and political analysts believe it will take a great deal more
    than fresh training to revitalise them.

    Although Abbas has swept out many of the old guard he inherited from
    late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, reforms are far from complete.


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