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Mahmoud Barhoum says his world shook when Egyptian authorities told him that his home would be destroyed the following day.

Barhoum had spent 18 hours a day for two years to build his home in the al-Barahama neighbourhood of Rafah, near Sinai's border with Gaza.

He is due to get married next month, and planned to begin the rest of his life in this home with his wife. In 24 hours it would be gone, levelled to the ground to make way for a half-mile thick military buffer zone along the border with Gaza.

When the demolition order was given to Rafah residents by the North Sinai military commander, people broke out into tears, screaming. They knew that there would be no point in objecting to the decision, as military decrees in Egypt are irreversible. If there were protests or if inhabitants failed to leave their homes, then the response from the military would be severe, officials told residents.

War zone

The decision to flatten the neighbourhood and prevent citizens from entering the area comes after attacks on military checkpoints in the neighbouring town of Sheikh Zuweid.

As many as 33 soldiers were killed in the attacks, according to Egyptian officials. Many residents, however, believe that the authorities are using the militants' operation as a pretext to carry out a longstanding plan to make this part of the Sinai a military-only zone.

Rafah council leader, Major General Mohammad Saadani, said that the first phase of the operation would begin immediately, with all residents living within 300 metres of the Gaza border being evicted from their homes.

This amounts to some 680 family homes in the first phase of the operation, with the total increasing to 880 homes when the width of the buffer zone is extended to 500 metres. All families affected will reportedly receive 300 Egyptian pounds ($40) a month for three months to help pay expenses on new accommodation.

"I can't rent a hut with this money," said 20-year-old Rafah native Ahmad Faris, who is set to lose his home when the military-only area is established.

Rent for a two bedroom apartment in nearby al-Arish used to be 700 pounds ($100) a month, but due to a housing shortage, prices have risen to 1,000 pounds ($140) a month.

As wth rental, so too with house-buying. Property prices have skyrocketed in the areas around Rafah since hundreds of residents were given eviction notices.

Soon, there will be hundreds of families from al-Baharma, al-Qanbaz, Qishta, Faris and Nahhal in the same position as Faris, looking for new homes when theirs are destroyed.

Major General Mahmoud Abd al-Latif, the commander of the military operation in North Sinai, said that evicted residents would receive compensation of 1,200 pounds ($165) per square metre for homes already built. Demolition of empty homes in the planned 300-metre zone will begin immediately.

The stated motive is to prevent anti-regime militants from crossing the 7.5 mile border with Gaza into Egypt, he said. The military has said it will lift a curfew imposed on Rafah until Wednesday morning to give affected families the chance to prepare for the move.

Residents who spoke to al-Araby al-Jadeed said that they were angry that they were given such short notice, and that the compensation settlement is inadequate to find a new home.

Futile protests

Displaced residents have begun to gather outside Rafah's council building to confront military leaders. They were told by the commander of the military zone that the decision was irreversible, and that they should not waste any more time, to head home and evacuate before the deadline comes round.

All families affected will reportedly receive 300 Egyptian pounds ($40) a month for three months to help pay expenses.

Samir Faris, of the education directorate in North Sinai, is another resident affected by the miltary's decision.

The evictions are spreading panic in the area, he said, as people, unable to find alternative homes at such short notice, have been forced to dump their possessions and furniture with friends and family.

During talks between locals and the army, Rafah city council refused to compensate homeowners for destroyed homes if they find tunnel openings from Gaza on their land or in the immediate vicinity, Faris told al-Araby.

Mahmoud Mansour al-Akhrasi, another resident of the border area, said that the army was not concerned about the safety of citizens or families - as the eviction notices give them such little time and alternative homes were not prepared for them.

"How are these homeless citizens going to build homes to shelter themselves?" Akhrasi asks. He says that the compensation offer would not cover the cost of building homes of the same size, and most of the residents affected have modest homes of between just 60 and 80 square metres.

Mohammad Jamil has a home that cost him 180,000 pounds ($25,150) to build two years ago, lying on the Gaza border.

"The military gave residents such short notice before the military bulldozers will come in and level their homes to the ground with all their possessions and furniture inside it," he said.

The governor of North Sinai, Major General Abd al-Fattah Mabrouk, held a recent meeting with 20 prominent tribal and clan figures from Rafah to discuss the situation.

He reportedly put forward three options for compensation: money, a piece of land that was the same size as their home, or an apartment. The offer took the residents by surprise with little time to consider their options.

A source in the armed forces, who preferred to remain anonymous, said that the Egyptian government would begin operations by digging a moat along the border with Gaza and destroying tunnels entering from the besieged Palestinian enclave.

Time is running out for the residents to leave their homes and the military have made it clear that the evictions must happen.

Meanwhile, tears roll down the cheeks of Iyad al-Shair in Rafah. He has worked in Saudi Arabia for close to 13 years with the sole intention of saving up enough money to build a four-story house for his father, mother and two of his siblings. They are now looking for alternative accommodation as all four stories will crumble to dust in a day's time.                                                         

This article is an edited translation from our Arabic edition.