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Israel Plans Defense During Gaza Pullout
(Boston Globe) Dan Ephron - The Israeli military, concerned that Palestinian officials will fail to keep armed groups in check during Israel's planned withdrawal from the Gaza Strip this summer, is preparing a contingency plan to deploy its own soldiers in Palestinian towns and villages adjacent to settlements, a senior army officer involved in planning the pullout said Thursday. Some Israeli officials predicted factions in Gaza would stage attacks during the evacuation in order to bolster the perception that the Jewish state is being driven from the Strip. ''We are not going to let [Palestinians] shoot mortars or rockets into the settlements while we are evacuating them," the officer said.