Arabs are trying to erase the memory of Jewish presence in the Gaza region. "We wanted to make what was unacceptable look nice and acceptable," artist Taha Abu Ghali told Reuters News Agency.
The most popular pictures splashed on the walls of former community buildings are those of armed terrorists, similar to the inciting pictures and graffiti that cover walls throughout Gaza City and Khan Yunis.
One mural painted by a group of artists working with Ghali depicts an Israeli notebook. The page labeled "Gaza" is torn out, and two remaining pages are titled "West Bank" and "Jerusalem."
Flags of Hamas and other terrorist organizations have been draped over several buildings, including synagogues, most of which were torched after Israel ended its military presence in the area.
Arabs immediately destroyed a public building in the former N'vei Dekalim community which portrayed Jewish settlements in Yamit, in the Sinai Peninsula, where Jews were forced to leave in 1982 following the Egyptian-Israeli peace agreement.
The destruction of synagogues reminded a former IDF general of the Yamit expulsion and subsequent desecration of synagogues. Oded Tira, who was in charge of expelling Jews from Yamit in 1982, recalled that he was shocked after the evacuation to receive photographs of filth, including human feces, desecrating the sanctuaries. He was against leaving the synagogues standing in Gush Katif.
Arabs also have torn apart irrigation equipment and several greenhouses which once belonged to Jewish farmers who provided work and a source of income for thousands of Arabs. Quartet envoy James Wolfensohn and Vice Premier Shimon Peres worked out an agreement for a third party to buy the remaining greenhouses. They were to be turned over to Palestinian Authority (PA) for Arabs to get a head start in re-building its economy.
Meanwhile, Arabs are discussing new names for communities which were called by Biblical names, such as Atzmona, a site mentioned in the Torah account of the Jews' 40 years of wandering in the desert. Other demolished Jewish towns included Katif (literally "picking," as in picking vegetables which farmer grew), Gan Or (Garden of Light) and Shirat Hayam (Song of the Sea).
Reuters reported that likely new names for the communities include Yasser Arafat, former leader of the PLO, and Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, the founder of the Hamas terrorist group who was killed in an IDF missile strike almost two years ago.
The most popular pictures splashed on the walls of former community buildings are those of armed terrorists, similar to the inciting pictures and graffiti that cover walls throughout Gaza City and Khan Yunis.
One mural painted by a group of artists working with Ghali depicts an Israeli notebook. The page labeled "Gaza" is torn out, and two remaining pages are titled "West Bank" and "Jerusalem."
Flags of Hamas and other terrorist organizations have been draped over several buildings, including synagogues, most of which were torched after Israel ended its military presence in the area.
Arabs immediately destroyed a public building in the former N'vei Dekalim community which portrayed Jewish settlements in Yamit, in the Sinai Peninsula, where Jews were forced to leave in 1982 following the Egyptian-Israeli peace agreement.
The destruction of synagogues reminded a former IDF general of the Yamit expulsion and subsequent desecration of synagogues. Oded Tira, who was in charge of expelling Jews from Yamit in 1982, recalled that he was shocked after the evacuation to receive photographs of filth, including human feces, desecrating the sanctuaries. He was against leaving the synagogues standing in Gush Katif.
Arabs also have torn apart irrigation equipment and several greenhouses which once belonged to Jewish farmers who provided work and a source of income for thousands of Arabs. Quartet envoy James Wolfensohn and Vice Premier Shimon Peres worked out an agreement for a third party to buy the remaining greenhouses. They were to be turned over to Palestinian Authority (PA) for Arabs to get a head start in re-building its economy.
Meanwhile, Arabs are discussing new names for communities which were called by Biblical names, such as Atzmona, a site mentioned in the Torah account of the Jews' 40 years of wandering in the desert. Other demolished Jewish towns included Katif (literally "picking," as in picking vegetables which farmer grew), Gan Or (Garden of Light) and Shirat Hayam (Song of the Sea).
Reuters reported that likely new names for the communities include Yasser Arafat, former leader of the PLO, and Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, the founder of the Hamas terrorist group who was killed in an IDF missile strike almost two years ago.