Militants enter West Bank

WAVING the flags of rival armed factions, Palestinians poured into four abandoned West Bank Jewish settlements yesterday after Israel completed its evacuation under a plan to “disengage” from conflict.

Unlike the Gaza Strip, which Israel quit earlier this month, the settlements of Ganim, Kadim, Sanur and Homesh are in an area of the occupied West Bank remaining under Israeli army control.

But the army announced the complete removal of soldiers from the enclaves on Tuesday night, leaving them accessible to Palestinians from the nearby city of Jenin.