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Biblical claims to Gaza fuel resistance

Even as hundreds of Israeli soldiers and policemen broke through the gate of this settlement Tuesday in an attempt to escort out families ready to leave with their belongings rather than be pulled out by force, Mordechai Yaul was cementing blue and azure ceramic tiles to the wall of a new mikvah, for Jewish ritual bathing.

The construction amid the impending destruction - the Israeli army has plans to raze virtually all buildings here after all Israelis are moved out and military installations are dismantled - seems jarring, if not a waste of energy and resources. But for the deeply religious who remain convinced that this coastal plain must remain a part of Israel, a different kind of reality runs the show.

"When God promises us something, it`s not a game, like a promise from the prime minister. My hope is that there will be a miracle - there have always been miracles," says Mr. Yaul.

According to some historical documents, Gaza had a Jewish community at different points in history, although there is no agreement on how many Jews lived there or how consistently. Jews from Gaza are mentioned in the Talmud. In the 17th century, a Turkish rabbi named Shabbetai Zvi visited Gaza and met a fellow mystic, known as Nathan of Gaza, who made him infamous in the Jewish world after he convinced him - and his followers - that he was the Messiah. The remains of a 6th century Jewish synagogue, discovered in what today is Palestinian Authority-run Gaza City, were mentioned in the 1995 Olso II Accords as a Jewish holy site that Israel should be allowed to have access to in the future.