Palestinians have been watching the Israeli army evict Jewish settlers from the Gaza Strip with undisguised satisfaction. But many are worried about what the future may hold.
ROBERT SIEGEL, host: For the first time since the pullout began, Palestinian President Mahmoud      Abbas spoke out today.  He told cheering crowds that Israel's pullout      from Gaza is a first step that would hopefully end with further      withdrawals from the West Bank and Jerusalem.  NPR's Peter Kenyon has      that part of the story.</s>PETER KENYON reporting: After staying in the background as scenes of Israeli soldiers clashing      with Jewish settlers flashed around the world, Mahmoud Abbas spent the      day at public events.  He attended a Friday prayer ceremony to honor      Yasser Arafat, Hamas founder Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and others referred to      as the martyrs who gave their lives to free Gaza.  Then he traveled to      the still-closed Gaza Airport in the southern Gaza Strip where he spoke      to a cheering crowd.</s>President MAHMOUD ABBAS (Palestinian Authority): (Through Translator)      Today we are witnessing a historic joy and happiness following the exit      of the Israeli occupation from Gaza Strip.</s>KENYON: The day's events were seemingly designed to steal the thunder of      Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the other armed factions which have been holding      their own victory celebrations all week.  At Gaza's long, sandy beach,      children played in the surf a few yards from where Islamic Jihad men in      camouflage and face masks trotted in line onto waiting boats, mostly Gaza      fishing boats hired for the afternoon.  Islamic Jihad official Mohammed      al-Hindi said the demonstration was to mark a mostly forgotten chapter in      the intifada that raged for nearly the past five years.</s>Mr. MOHAMMED AL-HINDI (Islamic Jihad): (Through Translator) Islamic      Jihad had its own naval squad that, in fact, destroyed one of Israel's      gunboats.</s>KENYON: But for Gazans on the front lines of Israel's settlement project      here, the harsh realities of everyday life press too hard on the      consciousness to permit much debate over who gets credit for what, now      that the Israeli army and settlers are leaving.  Fifty-one-year-old Noah      Bashir(ph) has spent his life in the shadow of the settlement of Kfar      Darom.  His olive groves are gone, taken by Israeli bulldozers like the      one now moving earth into a berm along a road outside the settlement.</s>KENYON: Forty-two-year-old Adell Bashir(ph) is nearby, his left arm      hanging limp at his side.  He says last year, Israeli soldiers shot him      as he lay resting in the doorway of his house.  He's had two surgeries      and will need several more if he's to have any hope of using the arm      again.</s>KENYON: Noah Bashir points to a family walking to their house nearby, carrying a      large white flag as they cross a field in the shadow of an Israeli guard      tower. He's looking forward to the day when Gazans don't have to signal      surrender to reach their front door, and he doesn't want any Palestinian      violence or even premature celebrations to delay that moment.</s>Mr. NOAH BASHIR (Gazan): (Through Translator) I don't agree with the      celebrations right now.  I believe we should be happy, but we can be      happy by ourselves because those Israelis are waiting for any mistake      that we make to change things.</s>KENYON: Bashir speaks of immediate simple needs.  He hopes the      settlement lands will someday hold Palestinian homes for some of the      young couples who can't get married because they have nowhere to move.      But he implicitly understands the tangled politics hemming in both sides      at this critical moment.  He's seen Israeli soldiers moving in, however      gently, on Jewish settlers.  And he knows Mahmoud Abbas will have to take      on the Palestinian armed factions if he wants to enact his vision of a      Palestinian state.  And while Bashir has spent much of his life literally      on the front lines, his comments could reflect the situation of any      number of Palestinians or Israelis for that matter.</s>Mr. NOAH BASHIR (Gazan): (Through Translator) Because until this moment, I'm sitting      in my house unsafe, 'cause I stay between the two fires, the fires of      Arabs and the fires of Jews.</s>KENYON: Peter Kenyon, NPR News, Gaza.