Palestinians wary of Gaza withdrawal

By David Chazan BBC correspondent in Gaza

People in Gaza are happy that the Israelis have withdrawn, even if it is only a partial pull-back. Many are hoping that it is the first step in a broader peace process.

But they are still sceptical and even suspicious of Israel.

Israeli tanks have gone, but not too far

"The Israeli tanks are only a few kilometres away and they can come back at any time," said Naseem Mahmoud in Beit Hanoun, a farming community near the border with Israel.

Mr Mahmoud showed me around the ruins of his home, demolished a few weeks ago by an Israeli bulldozer.

"I'm not a militant," he said. "I'm not on the Israelis' wanted list so why did they do this to me?"

Nearby, two Palestinian flags have been planted in the rubble of another bulldozed house - a powerful symbol of hope and enduring national identity.

Click below for a map of the Gaza Strip before the Israeli withdrawal

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In the centre of the Gaza Strip, Palestinian police have taken over from Israeli soldiers at an intersection on the main north-south road which runs the length of Gaza.

It is known to Palestinians as "Shuhada Junction" or "martyr's junction" because it was the scene of some of the bloodiest clashes in the early days of the Palestinian uprising or intifada which began nearly three years ago.

As the Israelis withdrew, the father and brothers of 12-year-old Muhammad al-Durrah, who was shot here in his father's arms in 2000, laid flowers in his memory.

Here, the green, red, white and black Palestinian flags fluttered in the breeze where only a few hours earlier the blue and white colours of Israel had flown.

Settlers protected

But only a few hundred metres away, Israeli armoured vehicles were still visible. They were protecting settlers from the nearby community of Netzarim.

Today I was able to reach my fields and irrigate my crops for the first time in two months. But this isn't enough Khalil Ahmed

When the settlers want to cross Salah-ud-din road on the way in or out of Israel, the tanks still block the road while the Palestinian police halt traffic a few metres away.

"When will the Israelis be replaced by international forces?" asked a Palestinian man who gave his name only as Ahmed.

"That's when we might begin to believe the police process. The Americans favour Israel and they'll put us under pressure, but not the Israelis."

Water rights

Others, however, were more optimistic.

"Our lives have already improved," said Khalil Ahmed.

Muhammad al-Durrah, 12, was shot in the street in 2000

"Today I was able to reach my fields and irrigate my crops for the first time in two months. But this isn't enough, Israel must now release Palestinian prisoners and give us an independent state."

But many Palestinians don't believe that such a state would be viable.

"The Israelis will keep control of the water and the best land and the settlements will stay," Nassim Mahmoud said.

"The only way there will be real peace will be if Israel withdraws to the borders they had before the war in 1967 and we don't trust the Sharon Government to do that."

Those who want peace know that if it comes, it will be a long road.