Israel Withdraws From Gaza

For five years Maisoon Bashir and her family lived on the front-line of the Israeli occupation of the Gaza Strip. Their house was directly opposite one of the Jewish settlements built by Israel after it captured the tiny heavily-populated territory from Egypt in the Six Day war in October 1967. Israeli troops occupied the top floors of Maisoon’s house, using it as a military look-out post, while Maisoon and her family continued living in the rooms below. They finally re-gained possession of their home when Israel withdrew from Gaza in September 2005. Maisoon tells Mike Lanchin about living with soldiers in her own home.

Photo: An Israeli armored personnel carrier deploys at sunrise to protect the evacuation of the Gaza Strip Jewish settlement of Kfar Darom (David Silverman/Getty Images).