May 25, 2004
Rafah residents survey destruction after Israel ends raid
Agence France Presse

Residents of Rafah surveyed the devastation wrought by the Israeli army's week-long Operation Rainbow in the southern Gaza Strip (news - web sites), a controversial raid that left more than 40 people dead.

RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AFP) - Residents of Rafah surveyed the devastation wrought by the Israeli army's week-long Operation Rainbow in the southern Gaza Strip (news - web sites), a controversial raid that left more than 40 people dead.

The Israeli press suggested the cost of the offensive, which has left more than 1,600 Palestinians homeless in this impoverished town and triggered widespread international condemnation, may have been too high.

The Israeli army confirmed late Monday that its troops had completed a withdrawal from Rafah on the border with Egypt after tanks and bulldozers pulled out of the town's Brazil district.

The neighbourhood, which backs on to the border, resembled the aftermath of an earthquake on Tuesday as Palestinian bulldozers went to work in a bid to tidy up some of the mess left by the Israelis.

The army said in a statement that "approximately 56 structures" had been destroyed, but an AFP correspondent reported that more than 100 buildings had been either razed to the ground or were now too dangerous to live in.

The United Nations (news - web sites) Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said at the weekend that more than 1,650 Rafah residents had been left homeless by the raid.

In the Tal al-Sultan neighbourhood, which saw some of last week's deadliest clashes, seven buildings were completely destroyed and more than 150 homes damaged, according to UNRWA officials.

Hassan Tahrawi's house was one of the few that had been left intact in the Brazil district, but as he gazed at the piles of rubble all around his home, he found little comfort.

"My house is not destroyed yet, thanks be to God, but how can anyone live here anymore?" he asked.

"How do I feel? Ask my blood pressure. We are suffering too much."

Israel argues that Operation Rainbow was essential to put an end to weapons smuggling under the border with Egypt, saying it uncovered three smuggling tunnels used by militants since troops surged into Rafah last week.

The army said troops had also carried out "comprehensive arrests of wanted Palestinians, among them a number of detainees who are still under investigation".

On Tuesday, the Israeli press questioned what had been achieved by the Rafah operation, saying the downsides might outweigh the benefits.

"The cost of the operation was high," the Maariv daily said in an analysis, arguing that the fact that Israel withdrew from Rafah under international pressure over civilian deaths meant the raid was "to a large degree a failure".

"The harsh pictures of demolished homes in Rafah with their wretched owners among the ruins touched the hearts of many, including in Israel, and made it clear to the IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) that the scope of its legitimacy for drastic actions is limited," the daily said.

One officer who took part in the operation told Maariv: "We behaved like a bull in a china shop in Rafah."

Meanwhile, government sources told the left-leaning Haaretz newspaper that Egypt was ready to play a more significant security role in the Gaza Strip after a full Israeli withdrawal from the territory.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon (news - web sites) said he would present his revamped Gaza pullback plan to his cabinet on Sunday.

Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman met Monday with both Sharon and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat (news - web sites) to discuss the aftermath of the Rafah raid.

Arafat's top adviser Nabil Abu Rudeina said after the meeting, which he also attended, that Suleiman had conveyed a message from Sharon that Israel was ready to negotiate with the Palestinians.

No further details were available and Sharon's office refused to comment on the premier's meeting with the Egyptian mediator.

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