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Kfar Darom refugees clutch torah scroll and each other. (AP)
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| By Israel Insider staff and partners August 19, 2005 |
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| Kfar Darom residents leave their homes forever. (AP) |
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Israeli forces burst through burning barricades at the entrance of this Jewish village early Friday and quickly removed dozens of Gaza pullout opponents and residents, avoiding a repeat of previous day's violence in which youths pelted soldiers with paint, oil and sand.
The quick evacuation of Gadid, one of the last strongholds of anti-pullout protests, was the latest sign of progress as Israel pushes forward with its withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.
All but four of Gaza's 21 communities have been cleared out, and Israel's commander for the region, Maj. Gen. Dan Harel, said the remainder could be emptied by next Tuesday -- weeks ahead of schedule.
In the Palestinian town of Rafah, hundreds of Palestinians gathered in the sand outside the gate of an abandoned Jewish settlement to offer Friday prayers of thanks. Many wore T-shirts with the Palestinian flag and the slogan: "Today Gaza, tomorrow the West Bank and Jerusalem." The T-shirts were purchased with funds provided by the United Nations.
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"The substance does not cause other harm. We're not about an acid of a type that causes burns," he explained."
Dr. Mati Lifshitz, a poison specialist at Soroka Hospital, said the material spilled on expulsion forces at Kfar Darom was an unidentified but harmless substance that caused at most itching and allergic reactions, quoted in Yediot Ahronot
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The celebration, organized by the ruling Fatah movement, was held at a sandy border area that was the site of fierce fighting during the Palestinian uprising in recent years.
"We won so we came to thank God for our victory," said Abdel Raouf Barbar, a Fatah official. With parliamentary elections scheduled in January, the party is competing with the Islamic group Hamas to claim credit for the Israeli withdrawal.
In the community of Kerem Atzmona, Israeli bulldozers crushed several empty trailer homes, the first home demolitions since the withdrawal began. Israel plans on demolishing all homes in the abandoned settlements, removing hazardous waste and turning over other rubble to the Palestinians for construction projects.
The lone mission to expel residents of Gadid began at sunrise. A few holdout families, along with 60 hardline "reinforcements" from outside Gaza, were in the community when the troops entered.
In what has become a familiar scene this week, residents set two cars, wooden planks, and garbage bins on fire, sending a thick plume of black smoke into the air.
A military bulldozer cleared debris, and troops quickly fanned throughout the settlement.
Most of the protesters holed up in Gadid's synagogue, where they were permitted to hold morning prayers. After negotiations with police, the protesters agreed not to resist with force. Police moved into the building and carried the protesters away into waiting buses.
Troops also rounded up holdouts who climbed on the roofs of homes and shouted insults. One female protester slipped off a roof, suffering light to moderate injuries, the army said.
Palestinian militants opened fire at an army outpost in Gadid, causing no damage or injuries. Palestinian officials have pledged to maintain calm during the pullout, and there have been only isolated instances of gun and mortar fire this week.
The scene in Gadid was a sharp contrast to the fierce standoffs Thursday between troops and young protesters in the Neve Dekalim and Kfar Darom synagogues. At least 41 police and soldiers and 17 civilians were injured, and about 50 people were arrested.
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said he was infuriated by the violence, calling the rioters "criminals" who would be prosecuted.
Sharon told the Haaretz daily that he was saddened when he saw the TV images of Kfar Darom. "But in the evening, when I saw the tossing of those bottles of poisonous substances, or harmful substances, and the injury to ... soldiers and police, my mood altered and the pain turned to rage," he said. There has been no independent confirmation that poisonPolice claimed that "acid" was spilled on the expulsion forces, but the allegation was rejected by a medical expert who examined the substance.
In Kfar Darom, dozens of protesters had barricaded themselves behind razor wire on the synagogue roof, at first singing and waving flags, then attacking soldiers below with caustic liquids and objects, including what appeared to be acid.
Stunned police and soldiers, shaking in confusion, ripped off their helmets and clothes. Comrades quickly poured water on their heads and bodies. Some of the men gasped for air, and one sat on the floor, seeming disoriented.
But Yediot Ahronot reported that Dr. Mati Lifshitz, a poison specialist at Soroka Hospital, said the material spilled on expulsion forces was an unidentified but harmless substance that caused at most itching and allergic reactions. "The substance does not cause other harm. We're not about an acid of a type that causes burns," he explained.
There were no moderate or serious injuries or burns among the expulsion forces.
To break the siege, army cranes lowered metal cages filled with helmeted troops onto the roof, as cannons sprayed protesters with blasts of blue-tinted water. Other troops carrying wire cutters climbed ladders slick with oil. Then the troops removed the protesters one by one.
At Neve Dekalim, troops wrestled for hours against some 1,500 extremists making their last stand inside Gaza's largest town. Protesters lay on the synagogue floor with their arms linked, kicking against the Israeli forces while supporters held their shoulders in a tug-of-war.
After breaking the human chain, troops dragged protesters out of the synagogue, holding them by their arms and legs as they twisted and squirmed. Other protesters chanted "Desecration! Desecration!" Others chanted "Jews don't expel Jews" and the "Shma Yisrael" prayer.
By Friday morning, Neve Dekalim was virtually empty, with security forces, journalists, a few rabbis and a small number of pullout resisters the only remaining inhabitants.
"It is terribly sad to see the empty streets," said Eitan Ben-Mor, who had come from his home in the Golan Heights a week ago to lend support to the pullout resistance, and planned to leave after the morning prayer.
"The children are missing. The parents are missing," he said. "The most simple things of day-to-day life were taken away cruelly, and by force."
For years, 8,500 Israelis lived among Gaza's 1.3 million Palestinians in perpetual tension and frequently lethal violence. Sharon says the pullout, which is to be accompanied by a withdrawal from four small West Bank settlements, will improve Israel's security.
Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz said Friday it will take several weeks to complete the operation.
"This mission is not over, not in the Gaza Strip and not in the West Bank, where we haven't started operating. After we finish with the settlers there will be a few weeks until the Gaza withdrawal is completed," he said in a speech in southern Israel.
In another published interview Friday, Sharon said he has no plans to uproot any more Jewish settlements in the near future. Instead, he said future peacemaking would be based on the U.S.-backed "road map" peace plan, which calls for a negotiated settlement with the Palestinians.
"The burden of proof now rests on the Palestinian side," Sharon told the Yediot Ahronot daily.
Although the government has offered temporary housing to uprooted settlers, many refused to cooperate. Many settlers came to Jerusalem on Thursday to pray at the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest site. Some spent the night sleeping outside in the city's main public park.
The AP contributed to this report.
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