IDF to enforce Gaza buffer zone within hours

Full article on Haartez:

In the first stage of its plans to create a northern Gaza buffer zone to keep Palestinians from firing Qassam rockets against Israel, IAF aircraft Wednesday dropped leaflets urging Gazans to clear the area by 6 P.M.

The leaflets called on residents to leave the area where the former settlements of Nissanit, Elei Sinai and Dugit today lie in ruins. Gunners of the Islamic Jihad and other groups have used the sites to launch rockets against southern Israel.

The pamphlets warn that anyone spotted in the area after 6 P.M. Wednesday will be fired upon.

At the same time, IDF commanders handed Palestinian Authority security officials maps delineating the zones prohibited for Palestinian entry. This zone will be marked out by a fence, which runs one kilometer south to the evacuated settlements,

The new restrictions will remain in force until further notice, the IDF said.

The buffer zone is one of a series of measures adopted by the government to prevent Qassam fire to the area south of the city of Ashkelon.