Once upon a time, Egypt wanted Gaza back. Twice, in fact. Jordan sought the return of the West Bank and Syria has demanded the Golan Heights. The Palestinians have long clamored for both Gaza and the West Bank so as to establish an independent state.



All these parties have even gone to war to seize this land. Yet, it has been a long time since Egypt or Jordan expressed concern about assuming control of the territories once again. The quasi-official Palestinian government is in no great hurry for Israel to pull out of Gaza. Actually, Israel had taken Gaza twice, once in 1956 and again in 1967. It returned Gaza to Egypt after the 1956 war, but Gaza was not part of the Camp David deal in 1979 when Israel returned the Sinai to Egypt.



Leaders of the Palestinian Authority earlier begged Israel to coordinate with them its pending withdrawal from all 21 settlements in Gaza and four settlements in the West Bank. What's the difference if Israel pulls out unilaterally or if they work with the Palestinians?



In the careful-what-you-wish-for department, guess which party will almost definitely benefit from the Disengagement Plan and which party may shoulder a heavy burden. If and when Israel pulls out of Gaza during or after August, the dream of a unified Palestinian state could be shattered once and for all.



Two major newspapers carried stories raising questions on several issues, especially who will control the Gaza Strip should Israel succeed with its plan - the Palestinian Authority or a terrorist group like Hamas.



Appearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on June 30, Lt. Gen. William E. Ward described the initiative to reorganize a "dysfunctional" system of individual fiefdoms and virtual lack of a chain of command, the Washington Post reported. He added that the Palestinian police have minimal infrastructure or communications equipment; much of it was destroyed by the Israelis during the past four years.



Ward, who was assigned four months ago to assist the Palestinians with their security forces, told the committee that training forces and building loyalty to legitimate institutions "will occur over time, that transformation will take time, and it does not currently exist."



Of 58,000 Palestinians employed by the security forces, only about 20,000 show up for work, Ward testified. The security services had turned into "a social welfare net" with payments being given to employees even if they do not contribute to the daily security on the streets, according to the Post.



In this vein, Hamas confirmed on Tuesday that it will not become involved in a Palestinian government prior to legislative elections, the New York Times reported.



Hopefully, the Palestinian Authority will maintain control of Gaza. If not, the potential scenario would be disastrous - an annoyance for Israel, but a catastrophe for the Palestinians.



If terrorists control part or all of Gaza, especially areas adjacent to the Israeli border, they are fully expected to exploit it as a base to attack Israel. In comparative terms, this might be a nuisance for Israel. Israelis may be killed or injured -not to belittle even one death or injury - but Israel will retaliate sooner or later. Maybe the government will eventually get so fed up that they will swoop down in full force. It is a sure bet that many innocent Palestinians will die along with the terrorists.



If anything in Gaza is left standing, entry to Israel will probably be severely limited, if not closed altogether, and any other proposed arrangements will be frozen, thus choking Gaza's economy.



Meanwhile, the Times reported on up to 10 major issues associated with the pullout that an unidentified Israeli official said were undecided. Among them, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice spoke too soon when she announced on June 19 that the two aides agreed that Israel will demolish the 1,600 or so houses of its settlements there, and the Palestinians will be paid to clear away the rubble.



Members of the government have been split, the official said, noting, "There is a real tension between our desire to control and desire not to be responsible for Gaza."



Later in the day, after the Times story appeared, on Wednesday, Sharon spokesman Asaf Shariv denied the assertion of the unidentified Israeli official quoted by the Times. Shariv declared, "Israel will demolish the houses. The Palestinians will take care of the debris and will not bear the expenses."



Shariv's denial is contradicted two paragraphs later by Muhammad Dahlan, the Palestinian minister coordinating the civilian side of the pullout, saying earlier that no final agreement has been reached over the houses and that the Palestinians want Israel to remove the rubble.



An international official, who requested anonymity, confirmed Dahlan's statement to the Times, saying on Wednesday, "The question of who would take the rubble never came up when Rice was here."



Perhaps the Palestinians did not think things through when they wanted Israel to leave Gaza.