Israeli security forces clashed with protesters in the largest Gaza settlement on Tuesday in the run-up to the midnight deadline for Jews to leave the occupied territory. Hours before the ultimatum expired, an official said close to half the settlers had left the Gaza Strip by themselves.
Soldiers and police trying to take control of Neve Dekalim, a flashpoint of resistance against Israel's first uprooting of settlements on land Palestinians want for a state, dragged away dozens of youths, some kicking, punching and cursing.
The scuffles, the most violent since the army issued a 48-hour eviction notice to Gaza settlers, were wreathed in smoke as hundreds of demonstrators trying to block moving vans entering the enclave burned piles of rubbish on the main street.
"Where is the Jewish heart?" one youngster cried as four soldiers carried him away, each grabbing a limb.
Protesters pelted troops with eggs, stones and paint-filled balloons. One settler woman lay down sobbing in front of a bulldozer but later left. A few people were left with bloodied faces.
Officials vowed to do whatever was necessary to clear the way for settlers leaving under Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's plan for "disengaging" from conflict with Palestinians. Anyone left after midnight (2100 GMT) can be removed by force.
"We do not intend to blink," said Brigadier General Miri Regev, chief military spokeswoman.
The army general commanding the withdrawal said Neve Dekalim would be among the settlements where evacuations would start on Wednesday. Dozens of military vehicles and buses headed into the Gaza Strip towards the settlements, Reuters witnesses said.
Despite the scenes of defiance, many settlers packed up and joined an exodus that Israel says will mark the end of its 38-year occupation of the Gaza Strip.
Dugit, a largely secular settlement on the northern edge of the strip, became the first Gaza enclave completely evacuated when the last of its 79 residents left on Tuesday.
HALF SETTLERS GONE Pullout co-ordinator Eival Giladi said close to 50 percent of the settlers had left. He said he guessed that evacuating the rest could take two weeks and possibly less.
"All of Gush Katif is in mourning," said Gilad Meimon said as he waited to leave in a vehicle loaded with belongings.
But hard-line settlers vowed to stay put on land they believe was bequeathed to the Jewish people by God. Security officials fear a hard core of ultranationalists, including 5,000 who had infiltrated the settlements in recent weeks, could turn violent.
To emphasise that they intended to stay put, settlers in Neve Dekalim celebrated the inauguration of a new ritual bath, holding up Torah scrolls and drinking cups of vodka.
In a televised address on Monday, Sharon, once the settlers' champion but now reviled by them as a traitor, told Gaza's 8,500 Jewish settlers he shared their pain but that they had to give up the land, which is also home to 1.4 million Palestinians.
"We cannot hold on to Gaza forever," he said.
Sharon said Israel was prepared to make peace but he threatened Palestinians with Israel's harshest response should they attack once the settlers had been evacuated.
All 21 Gaza settlements will be evacuated along with four of 120 in the West Bank under the plan supported by most Israelis.
Palestinian militants claim the withdrawal as a victory and Israeli opponents decry it as a surrender to violence, while Washington sees it as a catalyst for renewed peacemaking.
Continuing almost daily Palestinian celebrations, a rally organised by the militant group Hamas drew 4,000 people in the town of Khan Younis, adjacent to heavily fortified Neve Dekalim.
Palestinians welcome Israel's withdrawal from land captured in the 1967 Middle East war. However, they fear Sharon devised the plan as a ruse to cement Israel's hold on most of the West Bank, where 230,000 settlers and 2.4 million Palestinians live.
Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz said it was estimated that 50 percent or more of settlers in Gaza and West Bank enclaves slated for dismantling would leave by the deadline. Those who must be forced out could lose a third of their state compensation, ranging from $150,000 to $400,000 per family.
The order in which the settlements will be evacuated was being kept secret until the last moment for security reasons.
Mofaz said the Palestinians would not be allowed in until after the army leaves, about four weeks after the settlers.
The World Court describes Israeli settlements as illegal. Israel disputes this.
Comments
Comments are closed.