Israeli peace overture follows Gaza destruction

The sights, sounds, and emotions in Gaza Sunday were those of war, not of the turning point toward peace being hoped for and proclaimed in the Middle East and abroad.

"This is my house," says Qais Nofal, pointing to twisted metal rods and concrete, the remains of one of an estimated 40 houses destroyed by the Israeli army during a two-day operation that ended Saturday night. After the operation, the Israeli army said in a press release that Palestinians ordered to leave their houses for their own safety were now free to return home.

"What home?" asks Mr. Nofal, a bearded, brown-eyed tailor. "My brother and I lived here with our wives and children. I built it gradually, bit by bit, over seven years."

Omar Sabah, a refugee from the fighting at Israel's creation in 1948, adds: "We came here this morning and found there is nothing left. There is no house, and no existence. It is finished."

Operation Orange Iron, which the army says was aimed at halting a surge of mortar firings against Jewish settlements and army positions, was the largest military operation since Yasser Arafat's death last month. Eleven Palestinians were killed, four of them civilians, and 47 wounded, according to medical officials. One Thai worker was killed and 17 people wounded by more than 30 mortars and rockets during the week preceding the operation, the army says. One Israeli soldier was wounded during the operation, said the army, adding that troops came under fire from antitank missiles and faced explosive devices.

The army statement said that "uninhabited structures used by Palestinians to fire shells and rockets were destroyed."

From the vantage point of Palestinian analysts, the operation is an indication that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is intent upon undermining Mahmoud Abbas, the leading candidate to succeed Mr. Arafat, who advocates an end to the armed intifada. In the perspective of Israeli analysts, the incursion had a similar objective to previous Gaza operations: avoiding the appearance that next year's planned withdrawal from the Gaza Strip constitutes a running away under fire.

The incursion came amid a tide of statements stressing that there is a unique opportunity for peace after the death of Arafat, who was viewed by Israel and the US as the main obstacle to resolving the Palestinian-Israeli dispute.

Sunday, in accordance with a deal struck between Egypt and Israel this month that led to the release of accused Israeli spy Azzam Azzam, Israel approved the release of 170 jailed Palestinians. Sharon said the decision to free the Palestinians was a "goodwill gesture" toward Egypt, which he says has become an important stabilizing force in the transformation to the post-Arafat Palestinian era.

Israeli officials also said the decision to release the prisoners was to show that Israel wants to "create an atmosphere of reconciliation" with the Palestinians leading to the Jan. 9 election to replace Arafat, according to the Associated Press.

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