Palestinian Authority workers started demolishing "unauthorized buildings" next to Gaza City early Tuesday, signaling that new Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas intends to enforce laws that have been long ignored.
Police commander Moussa Allaian said hundreds of structures would be torn down in Gaza City and the northern part of the coastal strip. Dozens of shops, cafes and kiosks have sprung up along the Mediterranean beach in recent years.
Over 200 heavily armed Palestinian police in uniform lined the street to protect the workers, but there was no violence and no resistance. A large crowd watched as two bulldozers leveled the structures.
The first to go were small kiosks built of wood, with red tile roofs. Police helped a cafe owner remove furniture as a bulldozer waited nearby. Allaian said Abbas gave the order for the after-midnight operation.
"The president gave strict instructions to remove all buildings built illegally on government land," he said. "We are a new era now. We must respect the law," Allaian said. There was no Israeli involvement, he said, and the operation was "not near Israel or any Israeli settlements".
