Gaza withdrawal deadline passes

The midnight deadline for Jewish settlers to evacuate the Gaza Strip passed at 10pm Irish time, setting the stage for the Israeli military to evict thousands of the settlers and their supporters.

Moments before the deadline, settlers were in synagogues in several of the 21 Gaza communities, dancing around sacred Torah scrolls, waving flags and singing nationalist songs in a show of defiance against Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s plan to unilaterally hand over the territory to Palestinian control.