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A young boy faces dozens of security forces. His T-shirt says: "We have love and it will win." (AP)
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08/16
Haaretz |
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08/16
Israel National News |
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| By Israel Insider staff and partners August 16, 2005 |
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| An elderly protester is hauled away in Neve Dekalim Tuesday (AP) |
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UPDATE: This evening at 8pm a column of army and police vehicles made its way from Kissufim Crossing into Neve Dekalim, the "capital" of Gush Katif, with several thousand residents remaining and at least that many supporters. Channel Two reports that 5000 security personnel are expected to participate in the expulsion activities. At first the police will assist residents to voluntarily leave, but tomorrow morning will use force to expel all Jews.
More than a thousands residents have gathered in the main synagogue, and are dancing with joy as a new torah scroll is brought in. Women and children are bringing in food and sleeping bags for the long night ahead.
At least 50 settlers were arrested for trying to prevent the entrance of hundreds of security personnel who stormed Neve Dekalim on Tuesday morning, using force to allow the entry of shipping containers into the settlement for the use of evacuees. The clash was the roughest confrontation between pullout opponents and security forces since Israel's Gaza pullout got underway on Monday.
Hundreds of opponents to Israel's Gaza pullout pushed and shoved IDF and police trying to clear a way for the moving trucks to enter the settlement of Neve Dekalim to help settlers leave before a midnight deadline for voluntary evacuation.
One police officer was reportedly wounded when settlers threw an unidentified substance in his eyes. The officer began shouting "I can't see!" The police claimed that the material was acid or ammonia but there was no independent confirmation of this claim.
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"It appears that the army will pursue its ambush strategy and violently deport the 7,000-8,000 residents and supporters in Neve Dekalim in a few short hours. Although nothing is known for certain, my current understanding is that the army will go to every home at 9PM tonight, ordering the residents to leave voluntarily (and even offer packing assistance -- how kind!) and, if not, at midnight, will return, kick down the doors and forcefully evict the residents."
Shlomo Wollins, publisher of IsraelReporter.com and resident of Neve Dekalim
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Younger and older pople attempted to block the main street of the settlement with burning tires and large garbage containers, in which they had set fires.
Officers from the Yasam special patrol unit carried out arrests and removed several dozen young people, to a distance of some 300 meters outside the settlement's main gate.
Negotiations ensued between residents and their supporters on one side, and the police and army on the other over how to break the deadlock, whereby security forces would withdraw from the community while residents would allow trucks carried moving containers to enter unhindered.
Tzviki Bar-Chai, the Yesha Council's leading representative in Gush Katif, said that the army has broken its word regarding the way in which it would bring in the large moving containers. "We made a deal with them, they broke it, and everything is off," Bar-Chai said to Arutz 7 early in the afternoon. "This is the manner in which those who are sending the army on this despicable mission have been acting all along. It's very hard for Ariel Sharon to see these pictures of most of the residents refusing to even pack, and therefore he wants to show violence and police clashing with these wonderful residents."
But later in the afternoon, it appeared that some kind of a deal had been reached. Most police withdrew and truck with containers proceeded.
Earlier on Tuesday morning, Yasam personnel and engineering forces dismantled and removed the main metal entrance gate to Neveh Dekalim. This move made it much more difficult for anti-pullout protesters to prevent the entry into the settlement of moving trucks and security forces involved in evacuation efforts.
In the meantime, residents of Neve Dekalim say they have obtained information of the army's intention to begin the forced expulsion of the town at 8 p.m. Tuesday evening.
Shlomo Wollins, publisher of IsraelReporter.com, reported live (and in tears) from Neve Dekalim on Aug 16, 14:50 on Neve Dekalim's imminent demise:
"It appears that the army will pursue its ambush strategy and violently deport the 7,000-8,000 residents and supporters in Neve Dekalim in a few short hours. Although nothing is known for certain, my current understanding is that the army will go to every home at 9PM tonight, ordering the residents to leave voluntarily (and even offer packing assistance -- how kind!), and, if not, at midnight, will return, kick down the doors and forcefully evict the residents."
To thwart the plan, residents are calling upon anti-expulsion activists to reach the town by any means possible, or to try to block the roads outside Kissufim to try and obstruct army and police traffic.
The AP contributed to this report.
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