Violence Elsewhere Mars Pullout

(CBS/AP)  Israeli troops dragged sobbing Jewish settlers out of Gaza homes, synagogues and even a nursery school Wednesday in a massive evacuation, fulfilling Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's promise to end Israel's 38-year occupation of the Gaza Strip.

But violence marred the evacuations: A right-wing West Bank settler opposed to Israel's pullout from the Gaza Strip set herself on fire Wednesday in Netivot, in another part of Israel, suffering life-threatening burns on 70 percent of her body. The 54-year-old woman had been carrying an anti-Gaza pullout sign.

According to reports, an Israeli resident of a West Bank settlement who worked as a driver for Palestinian industrial zone workers opened fire on his own passengers and other Palestinians, killing three and wounding two. Asher Weisgan allegedly took the gun from a security guard.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on Wednesday condemned the shooting as an act of "Jewish terror" aimed at stopping the Gaza pullout.

Sharon said the shooting was "aimed against innocent Palestinians, out of twisted thinking, aimed at stopping the disengagement."

In Gaza, Hamas spokesman Mushir al-Masri vowed that "this crime is not going to pass without tough punishment. The enemy is opening the gate of revenge."

However, he also indicated the group might not want to disrupt the Gaza pullout by inviting Israeli retaliation.

"No one of us wants the occupation to stay or to obstruct their pulling out, but in the face of this series of crimes ... all options are open," he said.

For months, Israeli security officials have warned that Israeli extremists might try to sabotage the Gaza pullout by attacking Arabs in a bid to raise tensions and divert forces carrying out the withdrawal.

In the Gaza settlements, there was little actual violence, just resistance. Soldiers entered Gaza's largest synagogue in Neve Dekalim Wednesday to remove hundreds of worshippers, who had formed long lines and swayed in prayer. First, though, in an emotional show of unity, troops wearing flak jackets joined the ranks of the worshippers.

Nearly all the settlers taken out of the synagogue were in tears, and CBS News Correspondent Robert Berger reports seeing a squad of women soldiers hugging each other and weeping.

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CBS News Correspondent Robert Berger reports from the Neve Dekalim settlement.

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Some 14,000 troops had entered five Jewish settlements — Morag, Neve Dekalim, Bedolah, Ganei Tal and Tel Katifa. Security officials said the goal was to clear out the 21 Gaza settlements in just a few days, far more quickly than originally planned.

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