Israel begins clearing out hard-line settlement

Hundreds of Gaza pullout opponents barricaded themselves behind rolls of barbed wire in the synagogue of the hard-line Jewish settlement of Kfar Darom today, as security forces dragged screaming residents out of nearby homes and a religious school.

Thousands of soldiers had entered the settlement at dawn and quickly encircled the heavily fortified synagogue and two nearby buildings. After failed attempts to negotiate a peaceful surrender, troops began moving into homes.

“Why did you become a soldier, to be in this crazy situation?” screamed a young mother, cradling a baby, as soldiers entered her home.

In another house, a husband and wife lay on the floor, shrieking and clutching their small children. A soldier participating in the evacuation a religious school suddenly disobeyed orders, and was quickly carried away by troops.

Yesterday, the first day of forced evacuation, there had been relatively little violence. In all, 11 of 21 Gaza settlements stood empty today.

In Kfar Darom, the fiercest resistance was expected at the synagogue, where hundreds of protesters on the roof barricaded themselves behind rows of barbed wire.

Moti Cohen, who had come from Jerusalem to be with the settlers, said protesters have hoarded sand bags and cans of foam spray for the confrontation. A large banner draped over the façade read: “For the Lord will not abandon His people or abandon His land.”

Residents jeered the forces, driving several soldiers to tears. “You’re right. Cry like we are crying,” shouted one settler who was loaded onto a bus, still wearing his white prayer shawl.

Soldiers put protective goggles over their eyes as they took up positions. A huge D-9 military bulldozer cleared cement barriers, normally used to protect the community from Palestinian fire, placed in the streets to impede the troops.

Lines of buses waited at the entrance of the settlement, prepared to take people away.

Noga Cohen, who had three children maimed in a Palestinian shooting attack on a bus, said Israel was surrendering to Palestinian militants.

On the door of her house was a sign. “In the event you knock on the door, you are a direct partner in the most terrible crime in the history of the nation of Israel.”

Kfar Darom has about 500 residents who have been joined by hundreds of outsiders – many of them extremist teenagers from the West Bank – to resist.

Major General Dan Harel, the Gaza commander, said he wanted to wrap up the operation by the end of the day. “If there are understandings, that would be good. If there are not, we will move the people out anyway,” he said.

During the stand-off, a group of Kfar Darom settlers walked to a group of nearby Palestinian houses, throwing stones and breaking some of the windows, said Mohammed Abu Samra, a resident of the area. Abu Samra said soldiers intervened and tried to stop the settlers.

The forced evacuations of Gaza’s settlers began yesterday after the expiration of a deadline for residents to leave. Israel says its 38-year occupation of Gaza, home to 1.3 million Palestinians, cannot be sustained.

While most troops focused on Kfar Darom today, they also returned to Neve Dekalim, the focus of evacuation operations on the first day.

Officials also hoped to complete the evacuation of Neve Dekalim, Gaza’s largest settlement. Police said about 100 of 480 families remained in Neve Dekalim. About 1,500 outside “reinforcements” – most of them teenage activists from outside the settlement – remained holed up in the synagogue.

In the Neve Dekalim synagogue, hundreds of men were praying or readying holy books. Some two dozen had ripped their shirts in a sign of mourning. One of them, Oren Ozeri, said he was praying for a miracle. “This is a war against God. They are desecrating a place holy to God.”

Outside, hundreds of troops formed human chains ringing the building. Protesters formed chains of their own opposite the soldiers, in many cases pleading and arguing with them. Some broke down crying and were escorted by their commanders to a quiet place to calm down.

In the small settlement of Netzer Hazani, troops faced off with settlers on either side of a burning barricade of garbage containers and tires soaked in gasoline. There was a pall of smoke over the settlement after settlers burned trees and brush nearby.

Residents said they planned to resist removal, but not use violence. Resident Anita Tucker had laid out a breakfast spread and planned to welcome soldiers into her home and tell them she did not consider them her enemies.