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/ 13 September 2005
Palestinian police on Tuesday blocked off abandoned Jewish settlements and chased after scavengers in a first attempt to impose law and order after chaotic celebrations of Israel’s pull-out from Gaza, but the overwhelmed forces were unable to halt looting of the area’s prized greenhouses.
Thousands of Israeli stormed the main synagogue of the Jewish settlement of Neve Dekalim on Thursday to remove about 1 500 protesters, one of the last bastions of resistance to the Gaza pull-out.
The last Jewish settlers were dragged kicking and screaming out of the Gaza Strip on Wednesday as Israel moved to end 38 years of occupation of the Palestinian territory. Backed by bulldozers, Israeli forces fanned out through the Mediterranean seafront territory.
Israeli settlers wept tears of rage and defiance on Tuesday as they clashed with security forces poised to evict them from their Gaza Strip homes after a midnight deadline. Police and soldiers traded punches with their fellow Israeli citizens in the main settlement of Neve Dekalim.
Israeli Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz tried to assuage the anger of Gaza Strip settlers on Tuesday, saying he is willing to consider delaying the operation to uproot them from their homes. Mofaz said he is sympathetic to calls for the evacuation to be postponed so it does not clash with a period of Jewish mourning that ends on August 14.