Within days after Israel withdrew from Gaza, Palestinian mobs have burned down twenty—five Jewish synagogues. Warfare has broken out between Palestinian factions, including the murder of Yasser Arafat's cousin Moussa Arafat and his son. The Palestinian Authority has not been able to maintain order. There are reports of al Qaida infiltration into Gaza and other Palestinian areas.

Yesterday a crisis broke out as Hamas blew up a border wall between Gaza and Egypt. Thousands of Palestinians flooded across the border into Sinai and Egyptians to flood into Gaza. The Egyptian military, which had agreed by international treaty to protect the border, where nowhere to be found.

Terrorist organization can now smuggle short—range missiles within range of vital Israeli installations such as an electrical power plant in Ashkelon.

So far the pessimistic voices  have proven to be right about the Gaza withdrawal. The Labour daily newspaper Haaretz headlines that "Israel fears unfettered Al—Qaida infiltration via Rafah" to attack the heartland of Israel.