Israelis Blow Up Three
13-Story Gaza Buildings
By Matt Spetalnick
10-26-3
NETZARIM JUNCTION, Gaza Strip (Reuters) - The Israeli army blew up
three 13-storey Palestinian Authority buildings in the Gaza Strip on
Sunday, sending shock waves from the deafening explosion kilometers
away.
The partly constructed buildings were dynamited after troops
temporarily evacuated an estimated 2,000 Palestinian residents from
the Gaza Strip town of al-Zahrah.
A flash of light was seen against the night sky as the simultaneous
blasts sent all three buildings tumbling down and a cloud of gray
smoke from the rubble rose into the air.
Apartments in Gaza City shook from the force of the blast which took
place at about 2:30 a.m. local time and could be felt across the
border in Israel.
"It was very accurate, very well done. I hope there is no collateral
damage. I hope it will be a good message to the Palestinian Authority
not to let their infrastructure be used for terror," said
Brigadier-General Gadi Shammi, commander of Israeli forces in the Gaza
Strip.
It was the largest Israeli demolition of Palestinian buildings since
the Palestinian uprising began three years ago after peace talks
deadlocked.
Security sources said the buildings were used by militants to observe
troop movements before launching an attack on the nearby Jewish
settlement of Netzarim on Friday in which three soldiers were killed,
two of them women.
Leaflets in Arabic were distributed to residents in the hours before
the explosion saying: "You must leave your homes immediately until the
end of this operation. The army is going to blow up some sites. Please
leave your windows open, turn off electrical devices and go to the
southern part of your neighborhood. Anyone who stays is risking his
life. Anyone seen with a weapon will risk his life."
DEMOLITION PLAN ONE YEAR OLD
One security official said plans to demolish the buildings were drawn
up about a year ago but the decision to implement them was taken only
after Friday's attack, which was claimed by the militant Hamas and
Islamic Jihad groups.
"We gave them a chance," the source said. "We expect buildings owned
by the Palestinian Authority will not be used for terrorist
activities, but after the raid on Friday we saw that we could not let
this go on."
The source said the two gunmen behind Friday's attack had spent weeks
monitoring patrols and troop movements in the heavily guarded
settlement in central Gaza from the towers.
The militants carried out their gunfire and grenade attack as fog
shrouded the settlement early on Friday morning. One militant was
killed and the other escaped.
Senior security sources said all the several hundred settlers living
at Netzarim had taken refuge in bomb shelters while the Gaza buildings
were being blown up.
Hundreds of Israeli troops, including demolition experts and
humanitarian liaison officers, were deployed in the operation to
evacuate residents living in a 400 meter radius of the three buildings
earmarked for destruction.
Commanders monitored the situation on live video from a truck several
kilometers from the scene.
"life is like a mushroom, they feed you ***** and keep you in the dark"
.
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