Israel Begins to Empty Base in Gaza Strip
Flatbed trucks rumbled out of the Gaza Strip on Wednesday carrying office furniture, computers and uniforms from an army base in the Israeli military’s first concrete step toward a planned pullout.
With Israel set to withdraw all troops and settlements from Gaza this summer, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon warned that he expected Palestinians to loot the sites after the soldiers leave. Palestinian leaders reacted to the comment with surprise, saying chaos was not inevitable.
The army trucks began emptying the base of the Southern Brigade in Neve Dekalim, the largest Jewish settlement in Gaza. About 20 containers were removed Wednesday, and more were expected to be shipped in coming days, the army said.
Military officials said there were no weapons in the shipment and that the base would not be dismantled until the end of the pullout.
“We are already preparing, so everything won’t be last minute,” said one official.
The date of the withdrawal remained up in the air Wednesday as the government considered delaying its start by three weeks, from July 25 to Aug. 15.
The delay was proposed to avoid pulling out during the annual Jewish period of mourning over the destruction of the biblical temples, leading up to the Aug. 14 fast of Tisha B’Av.
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