Clock Ticks On Gaza Settlers

Israeli security forces clashed with hundreds of opponents of Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, arresting dozens of people in the roughest confrontation between troops and settlers since the start of the operation.

The confrontation came hours ahead of a midnight deadline for all Jewish settlers to leave the Gaza Strip voluntarily or face forcible removal. Officials said they were hopeful many settlers would leave the area before the deadline, but also issued a stern warning of tough action against anyone who resists.

"We will make every effort, the army and the police, to have law and order in this process and anyone who acts illegally will be treated according to the law," Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz told a news conference.

The number expected to still be in the settlements at midnight is estimated at about 10,000 people, reports CBS News Correspondent Robert Berger: 4,000 Gaza residents and the rest supporters who came from outside. They'll face off against 55,000 soldiers and police.

The army is keeping everyone guessing, says Berger: No one knows which settlement will be targeted first.

The army did say security forces detained 50 Israelis for clashing with police and soldiers attempting to help Gaza settlers leave, mostly in Neve Dekalim.

The three-week operation to evacuate Gaza began Monday with the distribution of eviction notices. Israel plans to remove all 21 settlements from Gaza and four from the West Bank. It is the first time Israel has removed veteran settlements from either area, which are claimed by the Palestinians for a future, independent state.

On Tuesday, Palestinian militants marched through the streets of a town in southern Gaza flanking the settlements, and vowed the Israeli withdrawal would be the first step toward eliminating Israel.

By midday, three Gaza settlements and two West Bank communities were empty, while five other Gaza settlements rapidly thinning out. But residents and their supporters in several communities appeared to be digging in for a fight.

Jewish settlers have vowed to resist the pullout peacefully. But officials estimate Jewish extremists from outside Gaza, many of them fervently religious teenagers, have infiltrated the settlements in recent weeks.

But not all are teenagers.

"I'm a 64-year-old grandmother. I have nine grandchildren and they're going to have to take me out bodily," Rachel Saperstein told CBS News. "This is one grandma who is not going to go quietly."

After failing to enter Gaza's largest settlement, Neve Dekalim, on Monday, police moved in early Tuesday and dismantled the main entrance gate to clear the way for some 120 moving trucks to enter. Officers used an electric saw to cut through the gate, then dragged the metal barrier away and threw it on the side of a road.
Within hours, a large crowd of predominantly young people gathered near the gate and refused to let the trucks enter the settlement. When security forces tried to push back the crowd, scuffles erupted. Protesters wearing the orange color of pullout opponents pelted police with plastic water bottles while security forces put a water cannon on standby.

Police said they carried off several flailing settlers by grabbing them by their arms and legs. More than an hour later, traffic remained at a standstill.

As the standoff continued, a family of settlers tried to leave Neve Dekalim in a jeep carrying four mattresses on the roof and pulling a small trailer. A young girl inside was crying as the crowd prevented the vehicle from moving.

Avner Shimoni, a leader in the Gush Katif settlement bloc, said leaders supported the right of anyone to leave voluntarily.

Although a majority of Israelis support the withdrawal, CBS News Correspondent David Hawkins reports the evacuation has bitterly divided the country. Like many others, Saperstein feels betrayed by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

"He lied to the people," said Saperstein, a former Brooklyn resident who moved to Israel right after the Six Day War.

Much of the opposition appeared to be coming from outsiders who have evaded army roadblocks and infiltrated Gaza in recent weeks. Police spokesman Avi Zelba said about 500 people illegally in Gaza were arrested overnight, and dozens were caught trying to enter from Israel.

In the isolated Gaza settlement of Morag, leaders screamed out codewords over a loudspeaker ordering residents to go into hiding — preparations for the arrival of Israeli troops. About one-third of the settlement's 220 residents had left by early Tuesday, and many others were packing up. However, the army said an estimated 300 hardline outsiders remained holed up in the settlement.

Elsewhere in Gaza, residents of the Bedolah settlement torched three cars and vowed to burn down their houses ahead of the withdrawal.

In central Gaza, the hardline settlement of Netzarim showed no signs of preparing to leave. Residents spent the night in a communal celebration, singing and dancing and waving orange flags.

In a televised speech Monday evening, Sharon praised Gaza's settlers as "pioneers," but insisted that it is time for Israel to leave the area after 38 years of occupation.

"We cannot hold Gaza for good," he said. "More that a million Palestinians live there, doubling their numbers every generation."

Sharon also urged Palestinian leaders to control extremists. "To an outstretched hand of peace, we will respond with an olive branch, but fire will be met by fire more intense than ever," he said.

"This is only the first step to liberating all of Palestine including Jerusalem east and west and every inch of Palestinian land from the sea to the river," said Hamas spokesman Younis al-Astal.

Hamas and other militant groups have been seeking to portray the Israeli withdrawal, which got underway this week, as a victory for violent resistance. Israel fears that perception could lead to further militant attacks after the pullout, undermining efforts to jump start Mideast peacemaking.

Palestinian leaders have vowed to maintain law and order after the Israeli pullout. On Tuesday, Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia and other Palestinian leaders began a campaign to clean up Gaza's streets under the slogan, "Gaza Clean and Beautiful."

Qureia wore a T-shirt saying, "Today Gaza. Tomorrow the West Bank and Jerusalem."