NEVE DEKALIM, Gaza Strip, 17 August 2005 — Settlers bundled their belongings into huge container trucks yesterday before a midnight deadline and hundreds of troops poured into the largest settlement to appeal to residents one last time to leave on their own, or else be evicted.
Earlier, extremists pelted army troops with eggs and stones to disrupt a peaceful evacuation of Neve Dekalim, Gaza’s largest settlement and the epicenter of defiance.
After nightfall, hundreds of soldiers marched in formation through Neve Dekalim’s gate. Commanders held maps in their hands, and the troops took up positions near the industrial zone, linking arms to form a cordon.
Settlers and their supporters moved backpacks into the community’s synagogue, in what appeared to be preparation to make a last stand against the military.
Army commanders prepared final plans to break into Neve Dekalim and other of Gaza’s 21 settlements, probably around daybreak today in the first phase of the forcible eviction.
Israeli authorities said once Gaza is cleared of civilians — in at most three weeks — it will take several weeks more before Israel finishes dismantling its military installations and relinquishes the coastal strip to Palestinian control, under Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s historic plan to “disengage” from the Palestinians.
Demonstrators hurled empty bottles and stones at soldiers and tried to block moving trucks sent by the army to help settlers who wanted to leave voluntarily. Smoke from burning tires blackened the air above Neve Dekalim.
Settlers in several farming communities, in a final protest, burned their greenhouses and homes rather than leave them behind.
The fiercest resistance came from some 5,000 Jewish nationalists who slipped into the Gaza Strip over the past few weeks to reinforce the anti-withdrawal camp. Sharon has said giving up any territory and taking down settlements is very painful, and this week’s confrontations could help his argument that Israel is making a huge concession that deserves international recognition.
By nightfall, three settlements — Dugit, Peat Sadeh and Rafiah Yam — were abandoned, and most residents had left three others. Several others were thinning out.
Israeli media, citing army estimates, said some 600 families among the 1,600 who lived in the Gaza settlements were expected to remain after midnight.
Hundreds of die-hard opponents continued trying to reach Gaza, trampling over Israeli cropland near the border to circumvent army roadblocks. About 1,000 more protesters camped outside Sharon’s Jerusalem residence.
The military commander of the Gaza sector, Brig. Gen. Dan Harel, said the army had been working with the Palestinian Authority on the evacuation and the “cooperation is very good.” At Israel’s request, Palestinian police dispersed several marches that were threatening to move toward Israeli positions, he said.
