What a way to celebrate

Fox News: Palestinians Celebrate Freedom in Gaza

RAFAH, Gaza Strip — Joyous Gazans flooded into empty Jewish settlements Monday and Palestinians climbed ropes and clambered over walls from the Egyptian side of this border town to join a chaotic celebration of the end of 38 years of Israeli military rule over the Gaza Strip.

Plans by Palestinian police to bar crowds from the settlements quickly disintegrated. Militant groups hoisted flags, fired wildly into the air and set abandoned synagogues ablaze, illustrating the weakness of the security forces and concerns about their ability to control growing chaos in Gaza. The pullout is widely seen as a test for Palestinian aspirations of statehood.

Among those crossing were purported members of the radical Islamic group, Hamas, who waved the group's green flag on Egyptian territory, raising immediate concern over Egypt's ability to meet Israeli demands to prevent militants from leaving Gaza. (emphasis added)

Nice job, Mr. Sharon. Appeasement never works.

At one point, a group of people strutted and chanted around a large Hamas flag on the Egyptian side. But the dance came to a brief, sudden halt after a celebratory burst of gunfire on the Palestinian side.

A 34-year-old Palestinian man was shot and killed during the celebration, a Palestinian health ministry official said.

Why not just give it over formally to Hamas?

Palestinian authorities had promised an orderly transition, but the calls were ignored. Police stood by helplessly as gunmen raised flags of militant groups and crowds smashed what was left in the ruins or walked off with doors, window frames, toilets and scrap metals.

Palestinians torched empty synagogues in the Morag, Kfar Darom and Netzarim settlements, as well as a Jewish seminary in Neve Dekalim. Later, a Palestinian bulldozer knocked down the walls of the Netzarim synagogue.

In Netzarim, two young Palestinians waving flags stomped on the smoldering debris outside the synagogue, and others took turns hitting the building with a large hammer.

"They (Israelis) destroyed our homes and our mosques. Today it is our turn to destroy theirs," said a man in Neve Dekalim who gave his name only as Abu Ahmed.

That sounds awfully like "an eye for an eye," which Liberals accuse us of. Will they condemn the Palestinians for it? Doubtful.