Closing ceremony for Gaza

Israel’s 38-year long rule over Gaza ends: A small military ceremony held at the Gaza Division’s base near Neve Dekalim marked the end of Israel’s control over the Gaza Strip.

The last IDF soldier is expected to leave Gaza early Monday.

Chief of Staff Dan Halutz said during the ceremony, “The flags of the Palestinian Authority and the terror groups that will be flown in the former Israeli settlements will not alter the reality. Israel’s army and citizens paid a heavy price during these 38 years in Gaza. The hundreds of dead and wounded are a testament to the fact that the road was not an easy one. We will always remember the fallen and respect their families.”

“The handover of control to the Palestinians obligates them to enforce law and order and prevent terror. This is their true test. We will not tolerate their incompetence, we will not ignore their failures or accept acts of terror,” he said.

Kochavi said, “Generations of soldiers and commanders have served in the Gaza Strip, and the area has been scalded into the bodies and souls of many of us.”

“We will leave here together and lock the gate. The gate we will close behind us is also the gate that will be opened. I hope it will be a gate of peace and tranquility - a gate of hope, good will and neighborly relations," he said. 

“We are leaving with are heads held high and with a resolve to carry out any mission in the future. Gaza is being handed over to our neighbors. This is the beginning of a new reality, and it remains uncertain what it will hold for us."

Following the speeches, the “Tikva” (national anthem) was heard for the last time in Gaza, the Israeli flag was lowered and the remaining IDF forces proceeded to head out of Gaza in armored vehicles.

The IDF is gearing up for a cautious withdrawal.

“Anything can happen in Gaza,” An IDF source said.

“We are not complacent, and the withdrawal is being planned just like any other military operation. This is not a festival.”

Earlier the Palestinians decided not to participate in the ceremony, which will mark the official handover of control of the Gaza Strip, in protest of the Israeli government's decision to close the Rafah crossing for six months.

The Palestinian Authority reached its decision despite pressure applied by senior U.S. embassy officials, who urged the Palestinians to participate in the ceremony.

See video of deserted Gaza synagogues (Courtesy of Reuters): 

"The Israeli withdrawal is a unilateral step by Israel and it is not clear why we have to take part in the ceremony which is part of Israel's unilateral plan and decision," Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Ereket said earlier.

Gazing at Gaza from afar                      (Photo: AFP)

Earlier on Sunday Palestinians fired at IDF troops operating near the security fence surrounding the Gush Katif settlements. No injuries or damage were reported in the incident. However, the IDF is preparing for the possibility that similar incidents may occur in the coming hours, during the army’s withdrawal.

IDF officials estimate Palestinians will pour into the evacuated areas as soon as the forces will begin their withdrawal; this may delay the completion of the pullout, as the army may be forced to block certain roads, the officials added.

'Israel's dangerous decision'

Also on Sunday, the PA slammed the government decision not to destroy the 19 Gush Katif synagogues left behind following Israel's withdrawal from the region.

"The decision not to destroy the synagogues is a trap requested by the Israeli government to slander the Palestinians and the opinion of the international community," Interior Ministry Spokesman Toufik Abu Husa told Ynet. 

Senior al-Aqsa member Abu Ahmad told Ynet that leaving the synagogues behind is a trap.

"The Israelis are leaving behind Israeli presence on our land so that in the future they can claim they were here and that it's theirs," he said, adding that the Palestinians and Muslims must respect and preserve the synagogues until a final decision has been made regarding the issue.

"However, at the same time we are demanding that the Israelis preserve our holy places, first and foremost not to desecrate the al-Aqsa Mosque like they desecrated the mosque in Jaffa," he said.

Hamas: The decision will strengthen religious disputes

The Israeli decision is very dangerous and may strengthen the religious dispute, Hamas leader Sheikh Hassan Yousef said.

Yousef told Ynet that any damage caused to the synagogues by Palestinians or other elements will provide Israeli extremist with cause to desecrate places holy to Islam.

“We call on the Palestinian Authority to make every effort to remove these synagogues from our land, and at the same time we beseech our people not to take the law into their own hands and damage these places,” Yousef said.

Sheikh Hassan Yousef said that the government decision is a trap for both history and the future.

“Today they are leaving the synagogues intact. Tomorrow the Israelis will ask to visit them, and the following day they will want to take care of them, maintaining them a source of tension in the region," he said. "We have no problem with Judaism as a religion, or with synagogues or Jewish rituals or of others who live among us, and we are committed to treat them with respect and preserve them."

“But these specific synagogues are illegal just like the settlements in which they were built… which is why our demand is unequivocal: to remove them in order to avoid future tensions,” Yousef said.

IDF sources said that so far Egypt has deployed some 100 Border Guard troops on the Egyptian side of the Philadelphi route. The deployment is set be completed by this coming Thursday.

- Hanan Greenberg contributed to the report