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BBC Monitoring Headlines, Quotes From Palestinian Press 15 Aug 05

Posted on: Monday, 15 August 2005, 06:00 CDT

The following is a selection of headlines and quotes taken from the Palestinian press, published on 15 August:

Al-Quds: Gaza Strip settlers' evacuation starts ... Israel started putting end to 38 years of occupation of Gaza Strip ... Historic evacuation started at midnight after spurring heated argument in Hebrew state under shadow of five years of Intifadah ... Egyptian security officers oversee deployment of 7,500 Palestinian policemen around settlements ... Gaza Strip declared no-access military zone ... This marks beginning of evacuation ... Major roads and entrances to villages in Jenin governorate closed ... This comes in preparation for evacuating four small settlements in governorate ... Closure will end on September 4.

Al-Hayat al-Jadidah: Invaders' departure from Gaza begins ... This comes at time when there are internal [Palestinian] efforts to guarantee calm pull out ... Large Palestinian forces start deploying around settlements ... Agreement on format to form national committee on Gaza pull out ... Follow up Committee [comprising Palestinian factions] will meet today with Abbas to finalize details ... General Nasr Yusuf and Mufaz meet for more than two hours but without achieving any progress ... Palestinian sources said that this reflects negative Israeli positions that refuses to deal with pull out repercussions.

Al-Ayyam: Settlers begin to leave [Gaza] Strip and Palestinian National Security forces deploy around settlements ... Deployment of Palestinian forces started at 0400 local time [0200 gmt] ... Jerusalem: Thousands of citizens foil attempt by fanatic religious groups to break into Al-Aqsa ... There were clashes in number of places in city with Israeli police that prevented Palestinians from reaching mosque.

Quoted

Al-Quds: [From editorial] "Israel is not in a place that allows it to receive awards for ending its illegal occupation and inexcusable aggression against the Palestinian people that is getting ready to celebrate the achievement of another victory in its long quest for independence and freedom. The Palestinians understand that the Israeli government and settlers' ploys [to pullout from Gaza to enhance settlement in the West Bank] will not make them budge an inch from their insistence to receive their legitimate rights to end the occupation and establish full sovereignty over all of the homeland and its capital Jerusalem."

[From commentary by Imad al-Falluji] "Alas, we have regained a part [of our homeland] but have lost everything [else]. This is the real equation that we should pay attention to while we celebrate\ The Gaza pull out is an Israeli interest aimed at making us drown there, so that it can alone control our lands and people in the West Bank. So why is there an excess in celebrations?"

Al-Hayat al-Jadidah: [From commentary by Hafith al-Barghuthi] "Today, the invaders' departure from Gaza begins. It was not [Ariel] Sharon who had decided on this but rather resilient Gaza and its patient heroes\ If Sharon wishes for his settlers and himself a [long] stay \ in the West Bank he practically knows that his second departure [from there] is an inevitable reality. All he can decide on is the time."

[From commentary by Adli Sadiq] "These are moments for contemplation and celebration of harvesting the good plant\ These are moments to think about the great sacrifices that our people has made\ There is lots of work awaiting us, work that only fits freemen. When the battle is political, our strength is in our unity. We are stronger than the occupiers."

[From commentary by Ahmad Dahbur] "Our great people, Palestinians and Arabs: This Id demands of you not to damage it but rather make it an occasion for further Ids with unity and cohesion\ We still have a long way to go until we reach complete liberation."

Al-Ayyam: [From commentary by Ashraf al-Ajrami] "The statements made by Hamas leader Dr Mahmud al-Zahar \ in which he said that arms were sacred and that it was impossible for the movement to let go of them\ came at a delicate time and did not flow in the right direction\ The national interest calls for modest celebrations and reminding [ourselves] always of the dangers still facing [Palestinian] people."

[From commentary by Talal Awkal] "This is the first time that Israel is dismantling settlements that were built to stay, [built] to underline the Zionist project's success\ Only a few months ago, Sharon was comparing the Netsarim [settlement] with Tel Aviv, but now he is 'freeing' himself of the Gaza Strip. He is running away with his settlements, troops and equipment in what is the beginning of disintegration of the Zionist project's essence."

Source: BBC Monitoring Newsfile

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