· Anger and grief as Jews depart
· Sharon calls evacuation 'heartbreaking'
· Israeli gunman kills three Palestinians

Thousands of Israeli troops evicted Jewish settlers from the Gaza Strip today amid anger, grief and isolated acts of violence.The actual removals - which have seen troops dragging some settlers out kicking and screaming - have taken place amid high emotion but little physical confrontation.

But three people were killed this afternoon when an Israeli man opened fire on Palestinians he was driving to their jobs in a West Bank settlement unaffected by the pullout.

Unconfirmed reports said the man was protesting at the withdrawal from all 21 settlements in Gaza and four in the West Bank after 38 years of occupation.

The Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon, said the shooting was an act of "Jewish terror" aimed "against innocent Palestinians, out of twisted thinking, aimed at stopping the disengagement."

Palestinians fired a motar shell towards the Morag settlement in Gaza in apparent retaliation and Israel Radio later reported an exchange of gunfire between Israeli troops and militants nearby.

The forcible removals operation began shortly after 9am local time (0700 BST) when troops entered four of Israel's 21 Gaza settlements. It followed the issuing of 48-hour evacuation notices by the army on Monday and the passing of a deadline - at midnight last night - for settlers to leave of their own accord.

Protesters as young as 12 at Neve Dekalim, the largest settlement, struggled as troops dragged them onto removal buses. "I want to die," one youth screamed as he was hauled away.

There were skirmishes with security forces but no serious fighting as the settlements were evacuated. One female soldier suffered a slight injury after being stabbed with a medical needle at the Morag settlement in Gaza.

Shortly after the incident, Mr Sharon appealed to protesters not to attack security forces.

"Don't attack the men and women in uniform," he said. "Don't accuse them. Don't make it harder for them, don't harm them. Attack me. I am responsible for this."

He said the evacuation was "heartbreaking", telling a news conference: "It is impossible to watch this, and that includes myself, without tears in the eyes."

Opponents of the withdrawal believe it is a surrender to Palestinian militant groups.

In the southern Israeli town of Netivot, not far from Gaza, a 54-year-old Israeli woman set herself on fire and was reportedly left with life-threatening 60% burns.

There were also reports that a group of up to 20 protesters believed to be members of the ultra-Orthodox Chabad sect had barricaded themselves into the basement of the synagogue in Neve Dekalim and were threatening to commit mass suicide by setting themselves on fire.

The synagogue is a centre of protest against the withdrawal and an estimated 2,000 protesters have been praying for a miracle to stop the evacuation.

Between 500 and 600 families were left in the Gaza Strip - around one third of the total settler population of 8,500 - according to the Israeli military. Thousands of young non-resident opponents to the withdrawal also remain.

Many settlers were resigned to leaving, and were cooperating with soldiers, but a hard core - for whom "Jews don't evict Jews" has become a slogan - remain determined to force confrontations.

Settlers were pulled from homes, synagogues and even a nursery. As the day wore on, it appeared more settlers were cooperating with the troops.

During the early stages of removals at Neve Dekalim, one army officer, who gave his name as Yitzhak, broke into tears and embraced a settler.

"These are very special people ... taking people out of their homes is not easy," he said. "But we have a mission, and we will carry it out. And I think these people understand that."

Some residents remonstrated with the hardliners and repeatedly doused fires started in rubbish bins by protesters.

In Morag, protesters also gathered in the synagogue, but troops entered the building and removed them. Some protesters continued praying in front of the Torah scroll as soldiers removed people around them.

Bedolah and Ganei Tal - where the army believes most settlers will leave voluntarily - were among the areas entered early. Later, troops went into the settlements at Tel Katifa and Kerem Atzmona.

At Kerem Atzmona, dozens of hardline settlers, most of whom live in trailers, shouted abuse at the arriving soldiers, calling them "Nazis".

Some wore T-shirts with Nazi-era imagery, and swastikas were daubed on doors.

Security officials said today that they hoped to clear the communities in only a few days - far more quickly than the official army deadline of September 4.

It is the first time Israel has uprooted Jewish communities built on land occupied in 1967 and widely recognised as likely to be part of a future Palestinian state.

The withdrawal from Gaza and the transfer of the territory to Palestinian control is part of Mr Sharon's "disengagement" plan, first touted around 18 months ago.


Source: The Guardian