GAZA

ISRAEL QUITS GAZA LEAVING RUINS IN WAKE
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REUTERS [ MONDAY, MARCH 10, 2003 06:11:06 PM ]

BEIT LAHIYA: Israeli troops withdrew from a four-square-mile area of
northern Gaza on Monday, three days after seizing the patch of land to
prevent the firing of rockets at Israel border towns. The pullback came
despite renewed rocket fire on the Israeli town of Sderot on Sunday and
initial statements by army commanders show that troops would stay for
the
foreseeable future. During the past three days, soldiers had taken up
positions on rooftops and in schools in the northern Gaza town of Beit
Lahiya and in nearby farm areas. Army bulldozers damaged 15 farms, said
the
mayor of Beit Lahiya, Mohammed Masri. Reporters touring the area on
Monday
saw demolished green houses and uprooted olive and orange trees. The
army
said troops cleared the area of trees and shrubs that Palestinians used
as
cover for firing crude, homemade Qassam rockets across the line with
Israel.