Violence Elsewhere Mars Pullout
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.
CBS News Correspondent Robert Berger reports from the Neve Dekalim settlement.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.
Some teenage activists showed fierce resistance. Troops dragged flailing protesters, some as young as 12, onto the buses. "I want to die," screamed one youth as he was hauled away. Several soldiers were hit by white paint bombs, and protesters smashed the window of the bus.
Veteran residents repeatedly doused the flames raging in garbage containers and complained that the young die-hards had no right to cause trouble.
Most of the demonstrators weren't even from the settlements, reports CBS News Correspondent David Hawkins. They're hardliners from inside Israel or settlers from the West Bank who illegally snuck into the Gaza Strip to disrupt the disengagement.
"I'm sure that the activists from the outside will do as much as they can to stop police and government from doing their evil acts," said one as the evacuations began.
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas urged restraint, telling Islamic preachers in his Gaza office: "We should let them go peacefully in order not to give them any reason to delay the evacuation."
The Palestinians have deployed thousands of troops to prevent any attacks on settlers or Israeli soldiers during the withdrawal. Palestinians have welcomed the evacuation but also fear that Israel is trying to draw borders without negotiations.
Abbas said the Palestinians will build a sea port at Netzarim and a new city at Morag. The Israelis will leave behind 152 public buildings inside the settlements that can be used by the Palestinians, he said. The army said it arrested 52 Israelis headed Wednesday to Homesh, one of the settlements slated for evacuation.
Once Gaza is cleared of civilians, it will take troops about a month to dismantle military installations and relinquish the coastal strip to Palestinian control.
Under Israel's plan to leave Gaza and four West Bank settlements, residents were given until midnight Tuesday to leave their homes or face forcible removal and the loss of up to one-third of government compensation. Officials said about half of Gaza's 8,500 settlers left before the deadline.