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A child blocks a jeep in Sanur. (AP)
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| By Israel Insider staff and partners August 23, 2005 |
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| Thousands of expulsion forces enter Homesh. (AP) |
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Thousands of troops cleared out the remaining bastions of resistance to the evacuation of two militant settlements Tuesday, evacuating hundreds of residents and anti-expulsion activists who had barricaded themselves in houses, synagogues and a fortress to protest Israel's first dismantling of communities in Judea and Samaria (the "West Bank").
Expulsion forces, some in riot gear, used circular saws, water hoses and wirecutters to break through barricades that protesters in Sanur and Homesh erected to make things difficult for evacuating troops.
About 10,000 troops had been mobilized to clear out the two settlements, where the resistance was staged mainly by Israelis from outside the communities, some of them West Bank youths known for extremism and rejection of the Israeli government's authority.
Hundreds of protesters holed up inside an old British fortress in Sanur where most of the community's resisters had barricaded themselves. Forces carrying shields and wearing helmets used saws to cut open the building's iron doors.
Troops brought out resisters, some with legs and arms thrashing, from the ground floor of the building as dozens of resisters danced on the rooftop. Some wore orange stars of David on their shirts, reminiscent of the yellow stars Nazis forced Jews to wear.
The resistance was broken after cranes hoisted two metal containers carrying SWAT troops onto the roof of the building. Within a minute, forces had herded the dozens of rooftop holdouts inside the containers, and the building was cleared.
Police commander Meir Ben-Yishai then declared the evacuation of Sanur over, and predicted both settlements would be emptied by the end of the day.
The main synagogue at Sanur was evacuated less than an hour after forces sawed open a barricade of iron bars at the gates, and stormed inside to bring out the 30 or so people, most of them youths who proceeded out quietly. Troops who broke into a religious seminary in the settlement quickly carried out 30 ultra-Orthodox men holed up inside.
The toughest resistance in Homesh came at a religious seminary, where troops protected by shields used wirecutters to cut lengths of concertina wire that resisters had placed around the roof's perimeter. Troops threw off the roof furniture, a bed frame and a water heater placed as a barricade.
Resisters on the roof locked arms, but did not struggle when placed into the shovel of a bulldozer that lowered them to the ground. Troops with riot shields pinned them down inside the shovel to keep them subdued.
They then sawed through the window bars and main ground-floor gate of the building to carry out other protesters, who lay on the floor, arms locked, offering prayers and songs of praise to God. By late afternoon, security officials declared the seminary cleared.
After clearing out the Homesh yeshiva, forces continued to clean out several pockets of resistance, including a house where dozens of teenage girls barricaded themselves and a bomb shelter. Police said they were being impeded by protesters, who continued lock their arms and legs and kick wildly as they were taken away.
Riot police also stormed onto the roof of a house to remove a group of rioters who barricaded themselves behind coils of barbed wire and hurled eggs, tomatoes, cans of food and dirty liquid at police who held up shields to block the barrage.
Children of all ages roamed the streets of Homesh and Sanur. In Homesh, a baby wailed in the arms of a policewoman who carried the child onto a bus whisking the evacuees away. In Sanur, a rescue worker was wet-eyed as he carried a baby out of one of the homes.
Security forces had said they expected the evacuation of Sanur and Homesh to be the most violent phase of the Israeli pullout from the Gaza Strip and four northern West Bank settlements. But resistance to the generally unarmed troops was surprisingly mild, and resisters generally cooperated with expulsion forces after brief demonstrations.
Security officials initially said some 2,000 extremists were holed up in the two settlements. On Tuesday, the military offered revised estimates, saying about 1,600 to 1,700 people were in Sanur and Homesh before the evacuation began, most of them non-residents.
The military's chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz, said violence was "less than expected."
Maj. Gen Yair Naveh, the West Bank commander, said rabbis took control of various groups that might have otherwise offered stiffer resistance.
Residents of the other two Samarian settlements slated for removal, Ganim and Kadim, had already left on their own. Military bulldozers on Tuesday began knocking down structures in Ganim, the first demolitions in a West Bank settlement.
The showdown between troops and Jewish pullout opponents in Sanur and Homesh came just hours after Israel completed its historic evacuation of Israeli civilians from 21 Jewish settlements in Gaza.
The pullout represents the first time Israel has abandoned territory the Palestinians claim for their future state.
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas called Sharon late Monday to praise him for a "brave and historic decision." Abbas suggested renewing negotiations, telling Sharon, "We are your partner for peace." The two agreed to meet soon, officials from both sides said.
Abbas called Israeli President Moshe Katzav on Tuesday to praise the withdrawal.
U.S. President George W. Bush said the pullout has cleared the way for the resumption of peacemaking.
"In the heart of the Middle East a hopeful story is unfolding," Bush said Monday.
Subhi Alawneh, a 58-year-old farmer from the nearby Palestinian village of Jaba, said Tuesday "is a day of celebration" for the more than 40,000 Palestinians who live near Sanur. In another village, residents watched the evacuations with binoculars and handed out sweets.
"We were afraid of them all the time," Alawneh said, referring to the settlers. "After they are removed we will distribute sweets and show happiness, we will go out into the streets to celebrate."
In one of the few instances of Palestinian fire since the evacuations began, gunmen shot at Israeli troops patrolling an area a few kilometers (miles) from Sanur and Homesh on Tuesday. One militant was moderately wounded in the ensuing gunbattle, Israeli and Palestinian security officials said.
The past five years of Israeli-Palestinian bloodshed have put the Mideast peace process into a deep freeze, with Israel continuing to build in West Bank settlements and Palestinians failing to curb militant attacks on Israelis -- both requirements of the internationally backed "road map" peace plan.
Sharon has insisted that Israel will hold onto the major West Bank settlement blocs where most Jewish settlers live under any final peace deal.
Israel is giving up four isolated West Bank settlements, which aren't connected to any large settlement bloc, "to show our seriousness and willingness to reach a comprehensive agreement" with the Palestinians, said Ranaan Gissin, a senior Sharon adviser.
The AP contributed to this report.
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