Israeli forces on Thursday faced stiff opposition from radical settlers in their bid to evacuate settlements.
From the early morning hours, Israeli forces surrounded the synagogue in the radical Gaza Strip settlement of "Kfar Darom", where hundreds of anti-pullout activists had barricaded themselves.
Many other pullout opponents were on the roof, which was fortified with razor wire. Israeli Army officers said they expected stiff opposition in Kfar Darom. Up to 2,000 settlers and supporters were in the settlement and threatening to strongly resist evacuation.
In the afternoon, Israeli security forces, some equipped with riot shields, moved into the synagogue in Kfar Darom. Police fired at rooftop protesters with a water cannon. In the most violent confrontation since the forced removals began this week, some 44 soldiers and settlers were wounded in the clashes on the roof.
In Neveh Dekalim, the biggest settlement in the Gaza Strip, hundreds of Israeli security forces swept into the synagogue compound in on Thursday afternoon, to end a two-day standoff with anti-pullout demonstrators who refused to leave. In Neveh Dekalim, at least four houses were set on fires by their owners.
An armed right-wing extremist activist, Aryeh Yitzhaki, threatened to open fire on any soldiers who try to enter his house in the settlement of Kfar Yam. At least 500 soldiers were surrounding his house. Forty other extremists were holed up in the house. Yitzhaki and the other radicals were later evacuated.
Elsewhere, settlers from Shirat Hayam, which was also slated for evacuation Thursday, went to the nearby Palestinian neighborhood of Muwasi around noon and threw stones at the Palestinian residents.
Also Thursday, Israeli security officers completed the evacuation of Netzer Hazani and Gan Or settlements.
Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Wednesday said that while she feels for evacuated settlers, Israel is expected to make further concessions that would ultimately lead to an independent Palestinian state. "Everyone empathizes with what the Israelis are facing," Rice said, but added "It cannot be Gaza only."
In an interview published by the New York Times, Rice said that the Palestinian Authority must move quickly to disarm Palestinian factions intent on breaking the current cease-fire with Israel.
