Pullout heats Israeli emotions, tests Palestinian discipline

The Associated Press reports that Israel's 38-year occupation of Gaza should be ending tomorrow, with soldiers knocking on Gaza's Jewish settlers doors ordering them to get out in 48 hours.

... "The settlers, who see the withdrawal as a betrayal of God's biblical promise to the Jews, have turned even closer to religion in recent days. Posters are everywhere declaring there's no one left to rely on but God and Rabbis have been sending out text messages telling settlers which psalms to recite."

And the militant group Hamas came out of hiding Saturday to hold a mass news conference, distributing the phone numbers of 34 multilingual spokesmen in a fight for control of the Gaza Strip ahead of Israel's withdrawal next week, according to another article by the AP.

"Determined to win the airwaves, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday inaugurated a special Gaza-withdrawal media center, complete with live-feed points for TV crews, a 24-hour text messaging service for news updates, maps."

emily | 9:51 AM | SMS and Religion |
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