MIDDLE EAST: Israel destroyed the last of its military installations in the Gaza Strip yesterday, but the complete withdrawal of the army from the area and the handover of the territory to the Palestinians was delayed because of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's indecision over what to do with some two dozen synagogues in the strip.
With the Torah scrolls removed, the government had initially planned to dynamite the structures, and that decision was upheld by the High Court of Justice on Thursday.
However, following calls from a number of influential rabbis protesting against such a move, Mr Sharon back-pedalled, saying that the government would make a final decision tomorrow.
Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz, who had long been in favour of demolishing the synagogues but also suddenly changed his position after conversations with rabbis, said that all Israeli troops would be out of the strip by Sunday night - or Monday, if the government decided to dynamite the synagogues.
While some Israeli leaders fear that the synagogues will be desecrated by Palestinians if left intact, the rabbis have argued that Jewish religious law forbids the destruction of synagogues. Some have argued that it would even be preferable for the Palestinians to destroy them.
The rabbis have also insisted that the destruction of the synagogues by Israel could be seized on by anti-Semitic groups around the world as a green light to desecrate Jewish places of worship.
"It is very difficult for me to give the order to the soldiers to destroy the synagogues," said Mr Mofaz, who grew up in a traditional Jewish home.
Israel has asked the Palestinian Authority to take responsibility for the synagogues, but Palestinian officials have refused, not wanting to be saddled with the controversial issue.
Israeli soldiers yesterday blew up watch-towers and military installations in Gaza, sending communication masts tumbling to the ground.
A bridge which connected the main settlement bloc to Israel, and which only Israeli motorists were allowed to use, was also dismantled.
With all the settler homes demolished and the 8,500 settlers now evacuated, the army's exit will signal the end of 38 years of Israeli occupation of the Gaza Strip.
A senior Palestinian official, Saeb Erekat, expressed optimism yesterday at the prospect that Israel would no longer control the strip, saying: "With the disappearance of occupation from Gaza, hope will be revived in the minds of Palestinians and Israelis that, instead of military locations, Israel will one day have an embassy in the state of Palestine and Palestine will have an embassy in the state of Israel."