NEWS: Leaving Gaza.

The settlement area of the Gaza Strip and the northern West Bank becomes a closed military zone on Sunday night August 14 at midnight (5 p.m. EDT), marking the start of the withdrawal, the first time Israel will pull out of land Palestinians want for a future state.






Entry and presence in the Gaza Strip from that point on is prohibited to all civilians, unless they are escorted by the IDF. (Journalists will be allowed to move freely within the settlement to which they are assigned, but will not be allowed to travel between settlements)

To prevent people from entering the territory, Israeli authorities set up roadblocks across southern Israel and cut off bus services to Gush Katif / Jewish settlements in Gaza for first time in decades; authorities set up a cordon of roadblocks in southern Israel today to prevent the opponents from interfering with the pullout.

On early Monday morning, the Yad l'Ahim (Brotherly Hand) operation will start: the troops will go from home to home, knock on doors and tell settlers they have 48 hours to leave their homes.



Two days later, soldiers will begin forcibly removing any settlers still there.

This is what the evacuation notice to be read by IDF officers as they approach settler homes starting August 17 will sound like:

“I, (rank and name), came here in accordance with a government decision and by law. I ask you to accompany me to the bus that will take you away. I am aware of the difficulty and pain associated with leaving your homes. If you need any help in carrying objects I have a team with me that would assist you. 'There will be dialogue'

Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Dan Halutz:

"Soldiers and police officers can weep and feel pain along with the evacuees. We will act benevolently and will respect logical requests that don't adversely affecting the mission. We are far removed from violence. There is no battle here, and we don't want to defeat anyone,"(www.haaretz.com..." target="_blank" class="postlink" rel="nofollow">haaretz)

About 55,000 Israeli soldiers and police were expected to take part in the pullout from the 21 settlements in the Gaza Strip and four others in the northern West Bank.

Some of the troops will remove the settlers from their homes, others will prevent Jewish protesters from interfering and still others will guard against attacks by Palestinian militants trying to create the impression they are driving the Israelis out.

About 20,000 Palestinian police and security forces are on high alert, ~ 7,500 of them were deployed Sunday near the settlements (southern Gaza) to protect settlers from terrorists. Egyptian security experts will be monitoring the Palestinian deployment. The Egyptians arrived at the Strip last week.

Israeli and Palestinian officials opened a joint operations centre on the Gaza border to help them respond rapidly to any violence.

Israel promised to retaliate harshly if fired on during the pullout.

Images in this article have been used with permission from www.gushkatif.net....

Related News Links:
www.haaretz.com
www.ynetnews.com
www.jpost.com
www.cnn.com

[edit on 24-8-2005 by SimonGray]

[edit on 27-8-2005 by John bull 1]

The Disengagement Implementation Law goes into effect




and the Kissufim Crossing is shut down once and for all



A nationwide alert went into effect, with a state of emergency lasting until after the disengagement is concluded.

[edit on 14-8-2005 by Riwka]

At midnight on Sunday, IDF Brigadier General Guy Tzur ordered troops to



take down the roadblocks leading into Gush Katif for the last time. Iit is now illegal to enter the settlement bloc.

The first IDF convoy of evacuating forces rolled into the Gaza Strip. Some 50 vehicles, including jeeps, ambulances and buses carrying police and soldiers entered the Strip in a first wave short after midnight.

The army began operation Yad l'Ahim (Brotherly Hand) Teams of four - made up of police and IDF troops - and equipped with a notice signed by IDF Southern Command Head Dan Harel, began knocking on the residents' doors at 8 a.m. Should families refuse to open their doors; the order signed by Harel will be hung on their front door.

First they entered the northern Gaza settlement of Nissanit
which is already almost completely abandoned. But the army wants to prevent anti-disengagement activists from re-occupying the site.


The IDF and police have decided not to deliver eviction orders to families to five hardline Gaza Strip settlements of Netzarim, Kfar Darom, Azmona, Katif and Dugit


Netzarim (Synagogue Interior)

Kfar Darom (Industrial Area)

Azmona (Community Center)

Katif(Synagogue)
www.gushkatif.net..." target='_blank' class='tabOff'/>
Dugit

where strong anti-pullout resistance is expected. The decision to refrain from serving the notices was aimed at preventing friction and possible clashes; .the notices will be handed out in bulk to local officials.

In Neve Dekalim, Gush Katif’s “capital,” residents blocked the main road connecting all area communities using various means, including tires and garbage containers.

1,127 out of 1,716 families in Gaza and four communities in northern Samaria who have agreed to voluntarily leave by August 17.

Of those, 897 out of the 1,486 families in Gaza have agreed to go, leaving only 589 families who will face the soldiers when they arrive to pull them out of their homes.


[edit on 15-8-2005 by Riwka]

Many journalists who are in the settlement had expressed their desire to stay beyond August 14, to cover Israel's withdrawal from the region.

A journalist (a sound technician of Algerian origin) working for the French public television station "France 3" was reportedly kidnapped early Monday morning.

Three masked and armed Palestinians ambushed him outside of his Gaza hotel, and then forced him at gunpoint into a waiting vehicle.

"France 3" had reportedly contacted PA security forces to request that they operate to rescue of the hostage and the TV also appealed to the French government to take action to secure the man's rescue.



[edit on 15-8-2005 by Riwka]

The Agriculture Ministry and the IDF today reached an agreement to allow trucks to enter Gush Katif to remove agricultural equipment.

The Pitzuach unit (Supervision of Plants and Animals) has been appointed to aid the Gush Katif farmers in the removal and transportation of their equipment in coordination with the army.



Most of the greenhouses from the Jewish settlements of the Gaza Strip will be selled to the private Economic Cooperation Foundation

(whose founders include Yossi Beilin, one of the architects of the 1993 Oslo peace accords between the Israelis and Palestinians). The foundation raised private funds to procure the greenhouses, including a personal $500,000 donation from James Wolfensohn, the former World Bank president.

The $14 million deal (signed on Friday just hours before the Israeli evacuation) deal covers 800 acres of greenhouses, which are owned by about 450 Jewish farmers.

The private Economic Cooperation Foundation in turn will hand the greenhouses over to the PA.


Many Palestinians are familiar with the growing methods and techniques that were developed especially for Gaza's sandy soil and desert-like conditions from years spent working in them.

This could provide the impoverished territory a much-needed economic boost after the hand-over.

Aryeh Yitzhaki, a resident of the Gaza settlement of Kfar Yam, announced the establishment of a “ “Independent Jewish Authority in the Gaza Region.”on Sunday.

"According to international law, when an occupying force leaves territory that it held, local residents become sovereign rulers of that territory," Yitzhaki declared at a press conference. He said that rather than be evacuated, the settlers should recognized as sovereign rulers of the place, as an independent entity separate from Israel.

Some 15 supporters of the initiative, wearing shirts emblazoned with the words "The Jewish Authority" cheered Yitzhaki's announcement.

(haaretz)


IDF Chief of Staff Halutz declared Monday that since the Disengagement Implementation Law went into effect at midnight Sunday, everything was going as expected.




Most families residing in the northern Gaza Strip have already left their homes and Police expect the settlements of Elei Sinai, Nisanit and Dugit and the southern Gaza settlement of Pe'at Sadeh to have emptied by the end of Moday.

In Neveh Dekalim, Gush Katif's largest settlement, residents showed strong resistance to the presence of troops. The settlers said that they want the enclave to be a center of resistance to evacuation but Police said they had reached an agreement with settlers; they now are allowing 150 freight containers into the enclave to be loaded with the personal property of settlers who are leaving voluntarily.


(Moving trucks on the way to Gush Katif)

The police did not intend to use force against demonstrators on either Monday or Tuesday - the two days before forced evacuation would begin.

Representatives of the residents of Kfar Darom called a press conference, where they announced that their opposition to evacuation would involve neither verbal nor physical violence. "We are brothers to the soldiers," said Efrat Badichi. Shirat Hayam secretary Yossi Hazut and spokeswoman Hannah Picard said their community intends to resist evacuation through non-violent means.

Nisanit settlers and IDF soldiers worked together Monday evening to dismantle the community's synagogue.


(A settler and IDF soldiers weeping Mon. during the dismantling of a synagogue in Nissanit.)

The evacuation of the northern West Bank settlements of Ganim and Kadim was completed on Monday evening.

Great articles Riwka.

I was in the sinai after Israel pulled out back to taba. They blew up the roads and destroyed the buildings when they left. Is the same happening now?

I think if I was there I would be tempted to return it all back to the desert it came from.

How can there be so much debate, fighting, and death over such a samll piece of semi-arable land? This is insane. These people are insane.

My best guess is they are using this as a ploy for the next terrorist attack and claim it was some Lebonese group and open up an all out war and reclaim Lebanon and then move on to fight with the rest of the Middle-East.

(Explicit) Israelites.

Originally posted by Netchicken
Great articles Riwka.

Thank You

Originally posted by Netchicken

destroyed the buildings when they left. Is the same happening now?

Yes, Jewish homes in the Gaza Strip will be demolished.

Even the Palestinians have lately been telling PM Sharon that they expect him to raze the settlements that Israel evacuates; they argue that if the settlers houses remain intact, the "intifada aristocracy" will turn all of Gush Katif into the most exclusive suburb in the Strip and reap the fruits of the evacuation without sharing any of the booty with the population at large.

The Palestinian Authority plans to replace them with high-rise apartment blocks

"If Israel does not destroy settlers' homes, we will destroy them," Housing and Public Works Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh told the agency. He said most Palestinian cabinet members favoured demolition.

source

Defense Minister Mofaz on Monday refused a PA request to take control of the settlements after the evacuation; he told them that only after the evacuation was complete and Israel had upheld its side of the bargain, including partially demolishing the buildings and removing dangerous materials, would the area be handed over to the PA.

The IDF is hoping to finish evacuating the Gaza Strip settlements within 10 days, despite the fact that the ~ 5.000 anti-disengagement activists who who infiltrated the settlements from outside Gaza in recent weeks (most of them youth) are already escalating the opposition beyond what the residents themselves deem appropriate.

In Neveh Dekalim, for instance, a group of residents and outside activists yesterday blocked the settlement's gates to prevent the vans from entering, even though they had been ordered by residents who began packin and wished to leave. At midnight, hundreds of non-resident youngsters in Neveh Dekalim came to the entrance gate and blocked Gush Katif's main road. Several blocked an army jeep, smashed the windows and punctured the tires. The yeshiva (religous school) boys of Neveh Dekalim removed the extremists from the road, and the army vehicle clunked away. (haaretz)


(Police officers removing the main gate of the Neveh Dekalim settlement on Tuesday morning)

There were few protesters in Neveh Dekalim on Tuesday, in contrast to the previous day, but there are still clashes.


(A police officer comforting a weeping settler in Neveh Dekalim)

As a result, police intend to deal severely with them as soon as the forcible evacuation begins.

Hundreds of Neveh Dekalim families are expected to leave their homes willingly - driving out of their settlements in their own cars. Those ignoring the final deadline will lose up to one-third of their compensation.

The key question, however, is how many residents of the Gush Katif settlement bloc will evacuate voluntarily.

Also on Monday, Israel and Egypt have finalized the agreement on the deployment of some 750 Egyptian border guards along the Philadelphi route on the border with Gaza.

Under the agreement, Israel will withdraw from the 12 kilometer-long route, created to prevent weapons, ammunition, illegal drugs and terrorists smuggling from Egypt into the Gaza Strip.

Defense Minister Mofaz said that Israel hoped to pull out from the Philadelphi route by the end of the year.


[edit on 16-8-2005 by Riwka]

I agree, great set of posts.

I am curious though about where the map above came from, showing the palestinian and israeli zones of control in the Gaza strip. Forgive my ignorance, but is this map showing the strip as it is now or as it will be after the handover is complete?

-koji K.

The map shows Jewish settlements up to August 14. 24:00 h.

Up from August 15. 0:00h, it became illegal for Israelis to be in Gaza.

Israel will evacuate the Gaza Strip, including all existing Israeli towns and villages.

Upon completion of the disengagement process, there shall no longer be any permanent presence of Israeli security forces in the areas of Gaza Strip territory which have been evacuated.

Clashes in Neveh Dekalim between security personnel and anti-pullout protesters had escalated.


( Pullout foes preventing containers from entering Neveh Dekalim on Tuesday)

At least three settlers were lightly injured and an officer in the Israel Police filming unit was lightly injured after an unknown substance was thrown in his face and hit his eye. 50 people were arrested, escorted out of the Gaza Strip and and offered release on the condition they agree not to try to return to the Gaza enclaves. Four detainees had refused and were being kept in custody.

On Tuesday afternoon, by 1:30 p.m, while the clashes between the two sides were at their peak, an understanding was reached between the IDF and the settlement‘s secretariat and Rabbis and representatives of the secretariat tried to convince the rioting youths to allow the entry of containers.

On the far side of the crowd from the moving crates, residents of Neveh Dekalim were seen continuing with their packing, as houses were emptied of boxes and furniture.


A joint Palestinian-Israeli situation room, manned by two Israeli security officials from the West Bank Civil Administration and two Palestinian police officials opened on Tuesday in Salem, outside of Jenin in the West Bank. It was established to deal with problems that Palestinian civilians might encounter during Israel's evacuation of four northern West Bank settlements.

[edit on 16-8-2005 by Riwka]

Great posts, Riwka. There should be a special accomplishment award for posts such as these.

You have voted Riwka for the Way Above Top Secret award. You have two more votes this month.

Thank You

As the midnight deadline (5 p.m. EDT) neared for voluntary evacuation, more half of the total residents, have left Gush Katif settlement bloc and more are expected to leave by midnight.

Some 1,000 IDF troops moved late evening into the key Gaza settlement of Neveh Dekalim. At present teams of police and soldiers are knocking on settlers homes asking them to leave peacefully ahead of a midnight deadline for the start "mandatory evacuation without force."

Meanwhile, settlers of Ganei Tal in Gush Katif reached an agreement Tuesday evening with the army giving them until noontime Wednesday to leave their homes voluntarily. Those families choosing not to evacuate willingly risk losing a large chunk of their compensation payment.

Also on Tuesday, Elei Sinai Rabbi petitioned The High Court of Justice with a request of relocating the synagogue constructions into Israel proper. The Court ordered the state not to let security forces dismantle synagogues and Torah academies in the Gaza Strip before Thursday and to reply within two days whether it would be possible to dismantle parts of the synagogues and reuse them in the construction of new synagogues in Israel proper.

There are 30 synagogues and eight Torah academies in the Gaza Strip; the synagogue at the northern Gaza settlement of Nisanit is the only one dismantled so far.



[edit on 16-8-2005 by Riwka]

Today will be a painful day, no matter how it and the next few days turn out.


More than 15,000 police officers and soldiers were being deployed in Gush Katif as of Wednesday morning. A long convoy of buses headed towards the settlement bloc, where soldiers and police were scheduled to begin the evictions at 7:00 a.m. (12 p.m. EDT)

Several settlements are slated to be evacuated Wedneasday morning, but the army and police will focus their efforts on the cornerstone enclave of Neveh Dekalim.

It is said that nearly half the settlement's total left Tuesday from Neveh Dekalim.


(A Neveh Dekalim resident standing by her family's loaded truck prior to their evacuation Tuesday night)

Fortunately, resistance at Neveh Dekalim is not as fierce as feared.

The vast majority of the residents of Gush Katif who remain, would not think of physically harming a soldier or policeman. Many presumably waited for this moment not because they plan to be violent, but because they could not bear the thought of voluntarily packing and leaving their homes.

Most of the barricaded activists are teenagers who entered the Gush Katif settlement bloc illegally in recent weeks in a bid to thwart the evacuation

Tuesday night, hundreds of opponents of the disengagement barricaded themselves in the key settlement's central synagogue.


(Neveh Dekalim Ashkenaz Synagogue Interior)


Meanwhile, Ganei Tal, Atzmona residents reached an agreement with the army Tuesday evening, giving them until noontime Wednesday to leave their homes voluntarily. and Netzarim residents say they`ll leave without a struggle on Monday.


[edit on 17-8-2005 by Riwka]

[edit on 17-8-2005 by Riwka]

I think the should leave the whole land of palstine .

STATUS: Current positions of settlers in key enclaves

• Atzmona
  -- Residents ask for cardboard packing boxes, which they then light on fire.
  -- Settlers have said they will leave voluntarily on Wed. afternoon.
  
  
• Bedolah
  -- Residents begin lighting tires and at least 2 homes on fire.
  -- Forces successfully enters settlement to begin forced evacuation, most residents remain barricaded in synagogue, refuse evacuation.
  
  
• Elei Sinai
  -- Some 30 families bolstered by dozens of recently arrived protesters, many of them from the Golan Heights.
  
  
• Ganei Tal
  -- About 1,000 troops enters settlement to begin forced evacuation late Wednesday morning, residents beg not to implement evacuation.
  -- Settlers agree to voluntarily evacuation, to take place between 1 P.M.and 3 P.M. Wednesday.
  -- Twenty-four families thus far have voluntarily evacuated.
  
  
• Kfar Darom
  -- 65 families and 2,000 protesters have barricaded themselves with barbed wire, but say they won't resist violently.
  
  
• Morag
  -- Hundreds of protesters at site, blocking gate.
  -- Army has entered settlement, is forcing its way into homes, arresting numerous protesters.
  
  
• Neveh Dekalim
  -- Three buses carrying arrested, mostly non-residents, leave settlement.
  -- Protesters start throwing eggs and plastic bottles at troops.
  -- Army carries woman from home, first settler to be forcibly removed.
  -- Nearly half of residents had left their homes by midnight Tuesday.
  -- Hundreds of youths have barricaded themselves in synagogues.
  -- Packing for evacuation begins at Torat Haim Yeshiva, which had been expected to be a stronghold of opposition.
  
  
• Netzarim
  -- Settlers announce they will leave without struggle on Monday.
  
  
• Tel Katifa
  -- Residents and army reach agreement on implementing evacuation without force.
  -- Settlers organizing departing ceremony, preparing for orderly evacuation.
  -- Residents will be removed from settlement in buses, transported to new settlement in Even Shmuel.
  

Also on Wednesday, the Inhabitant Administration set to begin evacuating the ~ 600 foreign workers which were employed in Gush Katif’s greenhouses to a hostel in the southern town of Arad, all expenses paid.

Each foreign worker who was employed in agriculture will be assigned a new position in the field.



[edit on 17-8-2005 by Riwka]

Originally posted by eazy_mas
I think the should leave the whole land of palstine .

Please define what you mean by that...

If you mean withdraw to the 1967 borders, I agree.

If you mean the total destruction of the Jewish State, I don't.