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Israeli police officers remove the gate at the Jewish settlement of Neve Dekalim in Gush Katif on Tuesday. (AP)
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08/16
Haaretz |
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| By Israel Insider staff and partners August 16, 2005 |
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Police arrested 500 anti-pullout activists for attempting to enter at Kissufim. An additional 250 were removed without arrest. Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz threatened "tough action" against those who don't cooperate. Israeli police cut through the main gate at Neve Dekalim. As the 12 a.m. evacuation deadline looms, some settlers are departing, leaving strongholds of opposition in Neve Dekalim, Morag, and Netzarim.
Among the detainees were three senior Yesha Council leaders: Pinchas Wallerstein, Zviki Bar-Hai and Ze'ev Hever, who were captured near the Be'eri junction.
The Yesha Council said thousands of people took part in overnight marches in the western Negev, aimed at blocking the way to and from Gush Katif through the Kissufim road. According to police, 400 protestors came from Netivot, 400 from Ofakim, 90 from Dimona and 200 from Moshav Ohad.
In addition to the 500 who were arrested, 250 were removed from the area, without arrest, for causing public disturbances.
Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz on Tuesday threatened tough action against anyone who tries to disrupt Israel's pullout from the Gaza Strip, and said he expected half of Gaza's Jewish families to leave by a midnight deadline for voluntary evacuation.
"We will make every effort, the army and the police, in order to have law and order in this process and anyone who acts illegally will be treated according to the law," Mofaz told a news conference.
Mofaz spoke ahead of a midnight deadline for settlers to leave Gaza voluntarily or face forcible removal. He said he expects the number of those leaving on their own to "stand at around 50 percent maybe more."
The Israel Defense Forces is hoping to finish evacuating the Gaza Strip settlements within 10 days, despite the fact that the thousands of people who infiltrated the settlements in recent weeks are already escalating the opposition beyond what the residents themselves deem appropriate.
In the meantime, Israeli police cut through the main gate of Neve Dekalim with an electric saw, the Gaza Strip's largest settlement Tuesday, seizing control of a key flashpoint with Jewish settlers who have resisted orders to leave the community under Israel's Gaza withdrawal plan.
In Neve Dekalim, hundreds of protesters, many of them teenagers wearing orange, the symbolic color of resistance, barred forces from entering Monday. Young activists also impeded moving trucks from entering and exiting the settlement.
"Now the police can decide when it opens and when it closes," said police spokesman Avi Zelba. "Now people who want to move can go out freely."
At midmorning, however, a large crowd of youths gathered near the gate in a renewed attempt to prevent moving trucks from entering.
Much of the opposition appears to be coming not from residents, but from extremists from outside the area. Officials estimate some 5,000 pullout opponents have sneaked into Gaza in recent weeks to resist. Zelba said about 500 people illegally in Gaza were arrested overnight, and dozens were arrested trying to infiltrate from Israel.
Harel, the Gaza commander, said young activists had blocked residents from leaving Neve Dekalim on Monday, and that the army was determined not to let that happen again.
"What happened yesterday, there was a violation of the law," he said. "We will let people leave freely."
Yehuda Glick, a West Bank settler who infiltrated Neve Dekalim, said he and other activists had no plans to surrender. "Everybody will be given an assignment. There will be those who will be given the assignment to be troublemakers, and there will also be those who will make sure the troublemakers don't go too far," he said. "I hope there won't be any wounded soldiers or policemen."
Officials said the early-morning maneuver was meant to allow an expected exodus of settlers from the area ahead of the deadline. But the show of force also stepped up pressure on pullout opponents, including hundreds of extremists who have sneaked into the area, to allow the withdrawal to proceed peacefully.
"If there are no problems, then we won't have anything to do here. If there are disruptions, then we will impose law and order," Maj. Gen. Dan Harel, the army's commander for the Gaza region, told Israel TV.
Anyone who remains behind after the deadline faces forcible eviction and the loss of up to one-third of government compensation -- a sum that could total tens of thousands of dollars.
Israeli officials said one-third to one-half of Gaza's 8,500 settlers have already left. Police said about 120 moving trucks were expected to head into Neve Dekalim later in the day. At midmorning a large convoy of trucks was seen entering Gaza.
Israel Radio said three Gaza settlements were totally empty Tuesday, and five others were quickly thinning out. But residents in a handful of communities appeared to be digging in for a fight.
In the isolated Gaza settlement of Morag in southern Gaza, residents appeared to be heeding calls to leave. About one-third of the settlements 220 residents had left by early Tuesday, and many others were packing up. Many houses were empty with even doors and windows taken by their owners.
However, the army said an estimated 300 hardline outsiders remained holed up in the settlement.
Morag resident Gazi Itzrak said he was sad to leave but thinks Sharon's reasons for leaving Gaza will help Israeli security. "We live here in the heart of Arab land. I believe he thought, on second thought, we should back out now and leave them in peace here."
In central Gaza, the hardline settlement of Netzarim showed no signs of preparing to leave. Residents spent the night in a communal celebration, singing and dancing and waving orange flags.
"The party was the focus of many energies that exploded out ... Here it explodes with happiness," said resident Eyal Vered. He added residents would not use weapons against soldiers.
Meanwhile, in the southern town of Rafah, about 1,000 Islamic Jihad activists rallied Monday, declaring that the Israeli withdrawal is a "victory for the resistance."
Hamas planned a similar demonstration Tuesday in Khan Younis, next to the Gush Katif bloc of settlements. Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said the group would not attack.
The AP contributed to this report.
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