HEADLINES FROM THE HEBREW PRESS

HA’ARETZ 1. PALESTINIAN MASSES DESTROY GAZA STRIP SYNAGOGUES AND BREAK THROUGH BORDER TO EGYPT. Israeli withdrawal: Kisufim gate closed and GOC Southern Command Dan Harel declared end to military government in Gaza. Chairman’s celebrations: PA Chairman Abu Mazen toured evacuated Elei Sinai settlement and unfurled Palestinian flag at Rafiah crossing. Hamas’s celebrations: Senior organization leaders, led by Muhammad A-Zahar, held prayers in abandoned Neveh Dekalim synagogue. Rafiah crossing: 24-year-old from Rafiah refugee camp shot and killed by Egyptian border guards that deployed along Philadelphi corridor. 2. YESH GVUL FILES COMPLAINT – AND HALUTZ AND YAALON ARE LIABLE TO BE ARRESTED IN LONDON. HATZOFEH 1. At 07:40, last Israeli soldier left Gaza Strip. THE NIGHT THE SYNAGOGUES WENT UP IN FLAMES. In night, before last soldier left Gaza Strip, thousands of Palestinians broke into Jewish communities and burned synagogues. PA bulldozers completed the destruction. Palestinian security man: There was no order to prevent destruction. 2. “PHILADELPHI AGREEMENT” CRUMBLES ON FIRST DAY OF WITHDRAWAL. Rafiah crossing opened by Palestinians despite Israeli opposition. Palestinian youth shot dead by Egyptian border guard. 3. POLICE STEPPING UP SECURITY AT MOSQUES AROUND THE COUNTRY DUE TO FEAR OF REVENGE. 4. APPEAL TO HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE AGAINST “FOOT-DRAGGING” IN INVESTIGATION AGAINST SHARON. MA’ARIV 1. Gate was locked behind the last soldiers. Israel deployed along new border in south. DANCING ON THE ROOF. Palestinians began running amok immediately. Masses looted everything at hand, desecrated synagogues and rejoiced over ruins of Gush Katif. Hundreds of Palestinians broke across Egyptian border. 2. SHARON DUE TO MEET WITH QATARI EMIR. PM leaving this morning for UN General Assembly. During visit, he is also expected to meet with world leaders, including President Bush. YEDIOT AHRONOT 1. LOOTING AND BURNING. Hours after IDF withdrawal from Gaza, Palestinian masses raided synagogues and burned them. ______________________________ SUMMARY OF EDITORIALS FROM THE HEBREW PRESS Both papers comment on various issues related to the withdrawal from the Gaza Strip: Yediot Ahronot says that everyone will be able to choose which “day after” and “day before” photos they wish to remember, depending on their political point-of-view. However, the editors assert that, “But on one picture there is no disagreement and therefore, it is the most important: Israel has left Gaza. The reality has changed beyond recognition.” Hatzofeh criticizes Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s and the Government’s handling of the entire disengagement issue. The editors declare that, “The withdrawal from the Gaza Strip hasn’t moved us closer to peace. And as a signal of this, a Kassam rocket landed near Sderot yesterday. Unfortunately, the sounds of war are being heard.” __________ Yediot Ahronot, in its second editorial, says that when Prime Minister Sharon soon addresses the UN General Assembly he will have to speak either to the international community or to Likud members, but not both. The editors believe that he will have to either, “improve positions in the internal battle over his standing vis-ŕ-vis Netanyahu or improve his international standing in a league which only Ben-Gurion and Rabin have entered.” The paper says that in this speech, the Prime Minister will show himself either as, “a statesman or a politician.” Yediot Ahronot, in its third editorial, dismisses the supposed ideological content to the internal battle in the Likud. The editors believe that both Prime Minister Sharon and former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu know the party’s settlements ideology, “is dead,” and that the Roadmap specifies that Jerusalem’s borders will be decided by negotiation. BPI-info