Lain

Israeli Troops Hand Out Eviction Notices in Gaza
Border Is Sealed; Many Settlers Vow to Stay on Land
By AMY TEIBEL, AP

NEVE DEKALIM, Gaza Strip (Aug. 15) - Tearful Jewish settlers locked gates at their communities, formed human chains and burned tires to block troops from delivering eviction notices Monday as Israel began to pull out from the Gaza Strip after 38 years of occupation.

Police and soldiers waited patiently in the sweltering sun and avoided confrontations at the behest of their commanders. At one spot, a sobbing settler pleaded with a general not to evict him before the two men embraced.

"It's a painful and difficult day, but it's a historic day," Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz said.

Over the next three weeks, Israel plans to dismantle all 21 Jewish settlements in Gaza and four in the northern West Bank. The withdrawal marks the first time Israel is giving up settlements on land claimed by the Palestinians for their future state.

While Prime Minister Ariel Sharon says the pullout will improve Israel's security, Jewish settlers fiercely opposed the plan and promised stiff, but nonviolent resistance.

But in a sign that at least some of the holdouts might leave by a Wednesday deadline, protesters permitted a convoy of moving trucks to enter the Neve Dekalim settlement Monday afternoon. Sharon planned a nationwide address Monday evening.

In Gaza City, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas set Jan. 21 as the date for long-delayed legislative elections.

The order was meant to show that the Palestinians are on the road to establishing a democracy, said Saeb Erekat, a government spokesman. "Those who want to seek power need to do so through the ballot box, not bullets," he said.

The elections were originally scheduled for July 17. Palestinian officials said the delay was for technical reasons, but the militant group Hamas accused Abbas of seeking time to shore up support for his embattled Fatah party. Hamas still plans to field candidates.

Hamas activists in Gaza City hung banners Monday proclaiming the pullout was a result of attacks by militants on Israelis. "The blood of martyrs has led to liberation," one banner said.

But the group said it had no plans to carry out attacks during Israel's withdrawal -- an act that Israel warned would bring a harsh retaliation.

"If the Israelis evacuate the Gaza Strip quietly, I think there is no single person among our people who will obstruct or violate this evacuation," said Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri.

Israeli troops fired in the air Monday to keep back hundreds of Palestinians, including a few dozen masked gunmen, who marched toward southern Gaza's Gush Katif group of settlements in celebration of the impending withdrawal. The crowd burned a cardboard model of an Israeli settlement, complete with an army watchtower.

With some 50,000 soldiers and police involved, the withdrawal was Israel's largest-ever noncombat military operation.

Israeli troops who fanned out across the Gaza Strip delivered eviction notices in six settlements, but met protests in others. The notices gave settlers until midnight Tuesday to leave. If they ignore the deadline, they will be removed by force and could lose up to a third of the compensation being offered by the government for giving up their homes.

Although many of Gaza's 8,500 settlers already left, the army estimated thousands remained, bolstered by some 5,000 hard-liners who came to help residents resist the pullout.

Settlers were defiant at Gush Katif. Hundreds blocked the gates of Neve Dekalim, Gaza's largest settlement, to prevent troops from entering.

Dozens of men, wearing white prayer shawls, held morning prayers at the gate, appealing for divine intervention to block the withdrawal. Youths wearing orange, the color of defiance, sat on the streets and yelled at soldiers. "You're a partner to a crime," one screamed.

Troops moved into the community through a second entrance, only to be blocked by crowds who burned tires, formed human chains and scuffled with soldiers. When a small group of soldiers managed to enter, settlers took the eviction notices and burned them. One policeman was covered in green paint thrown by protesters.

Despite the standoff, there were signs that residents would leave before the deadline. After negotiations with police, protesters in Neve Dekalim allowed a large convoy of moving trucks to enter through the main gate, though young activists sporadically blocked the vehicles. Army officials said at least 200 settler families throughout Gaza had asked for assistance in moving their belongings.

"This morning, the people stood up to the police and it was a victory. Now the (shipping) containers are coming in. It is heartbreaking and negative," said Yosef Meron, 68, of Neve Dekalim.

Military commanders listened to the settlers' appeals, but said they would not be deterred.

Maj. Gen. Dan Harel, Israel's commander over the Gaza region, said the operation was going as anticipated. "Our estimation is that by tomorrow night most of the residents will agree to leave," he said.

Harel attempted to talk to residents of Neve Dekalim, but was whisked away by police after he was confronted by angry settlers.

At the isolated Morag settlement, hundreds of people blocked troops at the gate. One man, identified by Israeli media as Liron Zeidan, burst into tears as he pleaded with officers not to remove him from his home.

"I am not your enemy. I served as an officer under you," the man told Brig. Gen. Erez Zuckerman, commander of the army unit waiting at the gate.

Zuckerman listened and wiped sweat off his brow, then hugged the young man. "We love you, you are part of us," he told the assembled settlers.

Resistance was much more subdued in the settlements of Nissanit, Elei Sinai and Dugit, secular communities in northern Gaza that were virtually empty.

In Nissanit, four soldiers came to the home of Yitzhak and Avigail Dadon, a couple in their 70s who said they would leave before the deadline. Avigail Dadon cried, and a female soldier stood up to hug her.

Two residents entered an abandoned home, took out a hammer and smashed the mirrors, doors and windows. Some homes were covered in graffiti, including one that read "Sharon is a Nazi."

Soldiers also had eviction notices for four small West Bank settlements slated for evacuation. They chose not to enter two of the communities, Sanur and Homesh, where hard-line extremists were holed up. The army instead planned to hand the orders to community leaders.

Abbas issued a statement praising the pullout but said it must be followed by more.

"The Israeli withdrawal which starts today is a very important and historical step, but it is an initial step that should take place not only in Gaza, but in the West Bank and East Jerusalem," he said.

The Palestinians fear the withdrawal is a ploy by Sharon to get rid of areas he doesn't consider crucial to Israel while consolidating control of parts of the West Bank, where the vast majority of the 240,000 Jewish settlers live.

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Erin

I just pray that it stays peaceful, and hopefully this is a step in improving Israeli/Palestinean relations.

mh67511

That must suck to be handed an eviction notice like that. To be honest I've never understood the whole conflict and don't think I ever will. But this will give Palestinians the country they've wanted, correct?

Milt Palacio

This could potentially be good news. Israel/Palestine need to work this whole thing out, even if it means some Israelis have to leave their homes and move elsewhere. In the long run, it will be a good thing.

Erin

It's long, and VERY complicated. Here is a good link of the history, if you are interested..Wikipedia.

I don't think clearing the Gaza strip will miraculously solve all the Israeli/Palestinean problems, but it's a step in the right direction at least.

Lexis

Its a good first step but more will have to be done. I do feel sorry for the settlers but this could be a way of making peace so they'll just have to accept that peace is what matters.

mh67511

I saw a guy on CNN today, some former Israeli official, who said he thinks it will just turn into a mecca (no pun intended) for Hamas, Al Queda, and other terrorist groups. Hopefully that wont happen.

Lexis

They'll undermine their own cause if they attack the pull out. The Palestinains want Gaza back and that's what they are getting - Isreali public opinion could sway the other way if they feel a good faith gesture is going to be spat on by the terrorists.

In Fair Verona

This is definitely history being made, I've got to say that. I feel horrible for the people settled on the strip though, the fact that their officials do this seems to go against Jewish... well, I'm trying to think of the right word - beliefs, culture? But at the same time, it's interesting to see Palestinine finally ascertain something for themselves.

Erin

Beliefs is a better word to express it. Many of the Israeli's that are protesting, are protesting because the belief is that the land of Israel was promised to the Jewish people by G-D. However, there has been debate on if The Gaza Strip is even part of The Promised Land. There has been disagreement on that issue for a long time.

But ultimately, that is why it is such a hard thing for a lot of the people, not just the settlers that have to move. In a lot of eyes, it's going against G-D. Only time will tell if it was worth it or not. And I pray that it makes things better, not worse.

dayne

I feel sympathy for the settlers having to leave their homes, but at the same, I feel that it was their own government and their very own convictions that lead to this predicament. The settlements were made for a nationalist purpose (i.e. a Greater Israel) and for religious reasons (i.e. God gave them the land). Regardless, these settlements are illegal by United Nation's international law.

I also noticed that the soldiers were very patient and understanding towards the settlers, which should be justifiably expected. Moreover, they were all re-imbursed at least $250,000. Of course, I just wish they had shown the same courtesy to the Palestinians who would have their homes buildozed with only a few minutes notice in order to accomodate these very settlements. No one really ever cared about their plight.

In Fair Verona

dayne

I think that $250, 000 (US) in the Middle East is a pretty big deal. Housing is not that expensive in Israel compared to other western nations. Moreover, these houses were mostly (if not all) very heavily subisidized by the Israeli government. Generous packages (i.e. housing, welfare, cash bonuses) were given to people willing to move to those troubled areas. I have no doubt that the Israeli government will give them proper accomodation within Israel or the West Bank.

I feel sympathy for them mostly because they had to leave the place that they had called "home" for so many years. And it's disheartening to watch anybody forcibly have to leave their home behind.

LiteratiFan0624

I'm very worried about this whole conflict, because I have friends and family in Israel (thank God not near the area of main conflict). I'm afraid that the Palestinians are going to keep asking for more land and cause more violence. The land was given to the Jewish people to be made into a Jewish state, so they should have the right to the land.

Lexis

But what do you suggest the Palestinians do? Isreal has a right to exist but the Palestinians deserve a place to live too that has enough room.

There has to be peace but it has to be fair to both sides - land really isn't worth all this senseless murder. Compromise is the key.