The Herald Journal · 1 July 2003
CP-2003-026
Main road open in Gaza Strip
Transcribed from the clipping
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli and Palestinian commanders shook hands Monday, bulldozers dismantled checkpoints and Palestinian traffic flowed freely in the Gaza Strip — the most significant sign of disengagement after 33 months of bloody fighting. But one man was killed in a Palestinian shooting.
In line with a U.S.-backed peace plan, Israel pulled troops out of northern Gaza late Sunday, and agreed to withdraw from the West Bank town of Bethlehem on Wednesday.
In another reflection of the bid to end 33 months of fighting, Prime ministers Ariel Sharon of Israel and Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority were to meet in Jerusalem on Tuesday, Palestinian sources said. Several Palestinian militant groups announced a suspension of attacks against Israelis on Sunday.
But the first full day of truce was marred by the killing of a Romanian truck driver on an Israeli construction crew. But there was also a first glimmer of optimism as Israeli troops pulled out of Beit Hanoun, which had seen most of its farmland razed by Israeli bulldozers.
“You were late,” Mohammed Shabat, 65, pointing to the destruction, told Palestinian policemen who took over the Israeli positions. “But, God willing, we will bring this town back to the old days.”
“This is a very important and serious step by the Israeli side toward the implementation of the road map,” said Palestinian Information Minister Nabil Amr.
Cite this clipping
"Main road open in Gaza Strip," The Herald Journal, 1 July 2003. Covering Palestine archive, CP-2003-026. https://coveringpalestine.org/archive/cp-2003-026
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Last updated 2 November 2026
This record is part of Covering Palestine, an archive of American newspaper clippings about Palestinians, 1724 to 2023. Researched and assembled by Maria Robles.
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