Pullout on hold, Gaza flares up

"Everything is the same," said accountant Mohammed Sbeih, sipping a mango juice after giving blood. "We are here in the hospital again. There is no Israeli withdrawal and there will not be one."

The recent raid comes amid signs of restiveness, or at least reservations in the army about Mr. Sharon's statement. On the surface, the stated intention to pull out without a peace agreement would seem to undermine the central doctrine the army has espoused since the beginning of the Palestinian uprising three years ago.

Shortly after taking up his post, the chief of staff, Maj-Gen. Moshe Yaalon said the army's task was to "burn into the consciousness" of Palestinians - that violence does not pay and that Israel will never withdraw in the West Bank and Gaza Strip under fire, as it did under pressure from Hizbullah in southern Lebanon in 2000. Such a ferocious posture was deemed necessary by Yaalon to restore what he perceived as a weakened Israeli deterrent capability

Now the army seems concerned that Sharon's statements could be interpreted by Palestinians as a cut-and-run by Israel. The head of army intelligence, Aharon Zeevi-Farkash, told Knesset legislators on Tuesday that the Palestinians view Sharon's statements as a "victory for terror" and are likely to intensify violence in the Strip.

Mofaz was quoted by Ha'aretz as saying that the army needs to make clear to Hamas and Islamic Jihad that an evacuation of the settlers does not amount to "running away" and that Israel would continue to fight them even afterward.

He stressed, according to Ha'aretz, that even after a settler withdrawal, the army would still reenter Palestinian areas in Gaza and would be even freer to act without the settlers being in the way.

Palestinian leaders say the Israeli incursions actually boost Hamas, and worsen an increasingly anarchic situation in which the Palestinian Authority is losing ground and having severe difficulty in governing. "These raids contribute to the disintegration of the authority. Hamas doesn't really have to do anything to boost its power, it can just watch as things continue to disintegrate," says Gaza Strip legislator Ziyad Abu Amr.

Earlier this month, the sense of anarchy was highlighted in Gaza when a policeman was killed and 10 others wounded during fighting between security forces in the Palestinian police headquarters. Associates of police commander Ghazi Jabali said there had been an assassination attempt against him, but a separate Palestinian security force denied that and said the shooting erupted from an argument. There have also been persistent reports of lawlessness in areas of the West Bank, particularly in Nablus.

In Abu Amr's view, the Israeli withdrawal will not bring Israel security unless it is coordinated with the PA. "Who will stop the militants from shooting across the border? What will Israel do then? If this withdrawal actually takes place, it might not be for a year or two. What I am wondering is: What will the Israelis do in the meantime?," Abu Amr asks.

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