Israeli tanks and bulldozers moved back into the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanoun today ahead of a scheduled visit by the new Palestinian prime minister Mr Mahmud Abbas and his security chief Mr Mohammed Dahlan.
The bulldozers began razing agricultural land in the area just a day after troops withdrew from the town which they had occupied for five days.
Palestinian officials said yesterday that Mr Abbas and his security chief were due to visit a number of demolished houses in Beit Hanoun this morning, but with Israeli troops still present it was not clear whether or not the visit would go ahead.
On Monday, bulldozers destroyed four houses and part of a mosque in the town, along with 20 hectares of agricultural land.
The military incursion, backed by tanks, was launched last Thursday in an attempt to deal with Palestinian Qassam rocket fire towards southern Israel.
The radical Islamist movement Hamas occasionally fires Qassam rockets from the northern Gaza Strip at the small Israeli town of Sderot.
The rockets have an estimated range of up to 12 kilometers but are largely inaccurate and have caused no fatalities.
AFP