Israel to mop up pullout foes in Gaza strongholds

NEVE DEKALIM, Gaza Strip - Israeli forces aimed to clear the last Jewish settlers and protesters from Gaza strongholds on Friday after breaking the back of resistance to ending nearly four decades of occupation.

Officials said over 80 per cent of the strip's settlers had been evacuated as well as hundreds of rightists from outside, many dragged kicking and wailing from synagogues where they had holed up and clashed with troops sent to bring them out.

By the end of Thursday, most protesters had been cleared from the biggest settlement of Neve Dekalim and from Kfar Darom, scene of the worst violence since the start of forced evictions.

Police used cranes and water cannon to battle protesters on the roof of a synagogue. They fought back with rocks and paint-filled light bulbs. Some of the dozens of security personnel injured suffered light acid burns.

Israeli opponents call the first pullout from settlements on land Palestinians want for a state a victory for militants -- a view echoed by the gunmen -- as well as the betrayal of a biblical claim that could set a precedent elsewhere.

"I am totally exhausted, but it has not been for nothing," said protester Shlomit Binyamin, 17, in Neve Dekalim. "I hope the people of Israel will ensure there will be no more disengagement. We must continue the fight."

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon dubs the pullout "disengagement" from conflict and most Israelis back it. Political analysts say it could also reduce foreign pressure to give up bigger settlements in the West Bank, land the Palestinians also seek.

Most housing blocks in Neve Dekalim stood empty of life after the evacuations. A bicycle lay abandoned, ribbons in the orange protest color of the settlers tied to its handlebars.

One family struggled to load a 3 meter mango tree, planted when they moved to the settlement at its founding in 1983, aboard an evacuation bus.

SUNDOWN DEADLINE

The army planned to make sure any stragglers were out by sundown on Friday, start of the Jewish sabbath.

"Our forces will do a sweep, block by block to ensure the area is clear," said army spokesman Ari Gottefmann.

Fourteen of 21 Gaza settlements are clear and officials said all may be empty by Tuesday, far sooner than first thought. Only isolated Netzarim looms as a potential troublespot. But community leaders said they had agreed to leave on Monday.

Two of four West Bank settlements on the evacuation list are already empty and attention is expected to move quickly to the others. In a sign the protesters have not given up, though, they blocked the road from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv on Thursday night.

Palestinians welcome the withdrawal of the 9,000 settlers from Gaza and the West Bank, but fear Israel aims to keep most of the other communities housing 230,000 settlers forever. Some 3.8 million Palestinians live in Gaza and the West Bank.

The White House, which sees the withdrawal as a way to boost peacemaking prospects, praised Israel's pullout on Thursday and said it would strengthen ties. Israel seeks $2.2 billion in aid from its US ally after the withdrawal.

Sharon has said Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas must dismantle powerful militant factions before there can be any progress to statehood talks under a U.S.-sponsored "road map."

But militants say the Gaza withdrawal has shown that fighting is the way to take more land from Israel. The army said gunmen injured a soldier lightly in a shooting on Thursday and fired two mortars at the main settlement bloc.

Israel says the pullout will end its occupation of Gaza, but Palestinians say that can only happen once they gain full control of borders and airspace. Israel is reluctant to allow that for now, citing security reasons.

The World Court brands settlements illegal. Israel disputes this.

- REUTERS