Clashes erupt in Gaza

Israeli settlers scuffle with Israeli police officers after they and other protesters attempted to block the main road to the southern Gaza Strip Gush Katif settlement of Neve Dekalim yesterday. More than 50,000 soldiers and policemen are taking part in the eviction operation of 8,000 settlers from Gaza Strip which started Monday. PHOTO: AFP

Police and soldiers traded punches with their fellow Israeli citizens in the main settlement of Neve Dekalim, underlining the rifts within the Jewish state that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon promised would heal after Israel ends its 38-year presence in the occupied territory.

While the arrival of dozens of removal vans inside Neve Dekalim showed that some were willing to give up their fight after police stormed in, hardliners were literally digging themselves elsewhere in the coastal strip of land.

The settlers' sense of pain and bewilderment at their one-time champion Sharon was summed up in the front-page headline of their Hatzofe newspaper: "Gush Katif Weeps".

The reality of their situation was underlined when police used bulldozers and hacksaws to force their way into Neve Dekalim, the largest of the doomed 21 communities which is situated in the main Gush Katif bloc.

A police spokesman said a decision had been made to forcibly enter to enable vans to remove the belongings of residents who wanted to leave voluntarily.

"We came in at around 7 am (0400 GMT) in order to allow 120 trucks to get inside for those who want to voluntarily evacuate. We are not going to allow anyone to stop them," Superintendent Eli Levi told AFP.

As the convoy of vans drove through Neve Dekalim, they found their way blocked by a group of some 150 youths who tried to form a human chain across the road outside the municipal headquarters.

The protestors were soon dispersed by hundreds of police and soldiers but only after blows were exchanged. Medical sources said one soldier and one policeman were wounded.

At least a dozen youngsters were arrested, most of them dragged off screaming and kicking as the crowd howled in rage: "Jews don't evict Jews!"

Silent tears rolled down the face of one female soldier in the barricade as a young settler woman was knocked to the floor and nearly crushed under the feet of the raging crowd.