West Bank Settlers Cleared Quickly
Thousands of troops cleared out the main bastions of resistance to the evacuation of two militant settlement Tuesday, evacuating hundreds of extremists who had barricaded themselves in houses, synagogues and a fortress to protest Israel's first dismantling of West Bank communities.
Forces, some in riot gear, used circular saws, water hoses and wirecutters to forge their way through barricades that protesters in Sanur and Homesh erected to make things difficult for evacuating troops.
To clear out the settlement's synagogue, Israeli forces used a trick that worked in Gaza, reports CBS News Correspondent Robert Berger: Two cranes lifted shipping containers onto the roof full of Israeli soldiers, who then stormed onto the rooftop and arrested the settlers.
CBS News Correspondent Robert Berger reports the evictions in Sanur, West Bank, are all but complete. About 10,000 troops had been mobilized to clear out the two settlements, where the resistance was staged mainly by Israelis from outside the communities, some of them West Bank youths known for extremism and rejection of the Israeli government's authority.
Hundreds of protesters holed up inside an old British fortress in Sanur where most of the settlement's resisters had barricaded themselves. Forces carrying shields and wearing helmets used saws to cut open the building's iron doors.
Troops brought out resisters, some with legs and arms thrashing, from the ground floor of the building as dozens of resisters danced on the rooftop. Some wore orange stars of David on their shirts, reminiscent of the yellow stars Nazis forced Jews to wear.
Police commander Meir Ben-Yishai then declared the evacuation of Sanur over, and predicted both settlements would be emptied by the end of the day.
The main synagogue at Sanur was evacuated less than an hour after forces sawed open a barricade of iron bars at the gates, and stormed inside to bring out the 30 or so people, most of them youths who proceeded out quietly. Troops who broke into a religious seminary in the settlement quickly carried out the 30 black-garbed ultra-Orthodox men holed up inside.
The toughest resistance in Homesh came at a religious seminary, where troops protected by shields used their wirecutters to get through lengths of concertina wire that resisters had placed around the roof's perimeter. Troops threw off the roof furniture, a bed frame and a water heater placed as a barricade.
After clearing out the Homesh yeshiva, forces continued to clean out several pockets of resistance, including a house where dozens of teenage girls barricaded themselves and a bomb shelter. Police said they were being impeded by protesters, who continued lock their arms and legs and kick wildly as they were taken away.
Riot police also stormed onto the roof of a house to remove a group of rioters who barricaded themselves behind coils of barbed wire and hurled eggs, tomatoes, cans of food and dirty liquid at police who held up shields to block the barrage.
Children of all ages roamed the streets of Homesh and Sanur, enlisted by their parents in what they view as an apocalyptic battle. In Homesh, a baby wailed in the arms of a policewoman who carried the child onto a bus whisking the evacuees away. In Sanur, a rescue worker was wet-eyed as he carried a baby out of one of the homes.
Security forces had said they expected the evacuation of Sanur and Homesh to be the most violent phase of the Israeli pullout from the Gaza Strip and four northern West Bank settlements. But resistance to the generally unarmed troops was surprisingly mild.
Security officials initially said some 2,000 extremists were holed up in the two settlements. On Tuesday, the military offered revised estimates, saying about 1,600 to 1,700 people were in Sanur and Homesh before the evacuation began, most of them non-residents.
The military's chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz, said violence was "less than expected."
Maj. Gen Yair Naveh, the West Bank commander, said rabbis took control of various groups that might have otherwise offered stiffer resistance.
Residents of the other two West Bank settlements slated for removal, Ganim and Kadim, had already left on their own. Military bulldozers on Tuesday began knocking down structures in Ganim, the first demolitions in a West Bank settlement.
The showdown between troops and Jewish pullout opponents in Sanur and Homesh came just hours after Israel completed its historic evacuation of Israeli civilians from 21 Jewish settlements in Gaza.
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has said the Gaza and West Bank withdrawals improve Israel's security by reducing friction with the Palestinians, and also solidifies Israel's grip on main West Bank settlement blocs, where most of the territory's roughly 240,000 settlers live.
The pullout represents the first time Israel has abandoned territory the Palestinians claim for their future state.
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday called Israeli President Moshe Katsav and praised the pullout from the Gaza Strip and parts of the West Bank, Palestinian officials said.
The two men said they were willing to meet more often, said Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat.
Subhi Alawneh, a 58-year-old farmer from the nearby Palestinian village of Jaba, said Tuesday "is a day of celebration" for the more than 40,000 Palestinians who live near Sanur. In another village, residents watched the evacuations with binoculars and handed out sweets.
"We were afraid of them all the time," Alawneh said, referring to the settlers.
In one of the few instances of Palestinian fire since the evacuations began, gunmen shot at Israeli troops patrolling an area a few miles from Sanur and Homesh on Tuesday. One militant was moderately wounded in the ensuing gun battle, Israeli and Palestinian security officials said.