Troops break resistance in West Bank
(AP)
Updated: 2005-08-23 21:32

Thousands of troops overcame the main bastions of resistance to the evacuation of two settlements Tuesday, clearing out hundreds of extremists who had barricaded themselves inside houses, synagogues and a fortress to protest Israel's first dismantling of West Bank outposts, AP reported. 

Security forces had feared the evacuation of Sanur and Homesh would be the most violent phase of the Israeli pullout from the Gaza Strip and four northern West Bank settlements, but resistance to the largely unarmed troops was surprisingly mild.

Commander Meir Ben-Ishai declared that the resistance was over after settlers had been evicted from a rooftop stronghold in Sanur.

"The removal is over," he said.

Two strongholds of resistance remained in the nearby settlement of Homesh, in a Jewish seminary and on the rooftop of a house.

Withdrawal opponents who had holed up on the roof of the seminary locked arms, but did not struggle when placed into the shovel of a bulldozer that lowered them to the ground. Troops with riot shields pinned them down inside the shovel to keep them subdued.

The main synagogue at Sanur was empty less than an hour after forces sawed open a barricade of iron bars at the synagogue's gates, and stormed inside to bring out the 30 or so people inside, 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.

Protesters on the roof of a house in Homesh hurled eggs, tomatoes and cans of food at troops below, who protected themselves with riot shields. Troops aimed water hoses at the protesters and used wire cutters to break through the barriers as rioters poked sticks at approaching troops. Forces then used a bulldozer to remove the barbed wire before storming the roof.

There were no signs of resistance once the troops climbed onto the roof.

In Sanur, forces carrying shields and wearing helmets used circular saws to cut open the iron doors of the fortress where most resisters had barricaded themselves. 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.

Cranes outside an old British fortress that was the center of resistance in Sanur hoisted two metal shipping containers carrying SWAT troops onto the building's roof so forces could clear out dozens of holdouts there.

Some 10,000 troops had been mobilized to clear out the two remaining settlements, where the resistance was staged mainly by Israelis from outside the communities. Some of the protesters were young Israelis known for extremism and rejection of the government's authority.

Security officials initially said 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 nonresidents. By midday, 246 Israelis civilians had been evacuated from 19 buildings in Sanur, and 86 from 45 buildings in Homesh, the military said.

Police said the operation broke the resistance on the rooftop and the eviction was effectively complete.

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.

Before the operation, police had said militants in both strongholds had hoarded firebombs and stun grenades. They also said two army deserters with army-issue weapons were believed to be inside Homesh.

Residents of the other two West Bank settlements slated for removal, Ganim and Kadim, have 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 called Sharon late Monday to praise him for a "brave and historic decision." Abbas suggested renewing negotiations, telling Sharon, "We are your partner for peace." The two agreed to meet soon, officials from both sides said.

Abbas called Israeli President Moshe Katzav on Tuesday to praise the withdrawal, Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said.

President Bush said the pullout has cleared the way for the resumption of peacemaking.

"In the heart of the Middle East, a hopeful story is unfolding," Bush said Monday.

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.

The resisters who faced off against troops in Sanur and Homesh consider the pullout a dangerous precedent that threatens all Jewish settlement in the West Bank, which the devout see as their God-given right.

The toughest resistance Tuesday came at a religious seminary in Homesh, where troops protected by shields used wirecutters to cut 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 before starting to carry out resisters.

They then sawed through the window bars and main ground-floor gate of the building to carry out other protesters, who lay on the floor, arms locked, offering prayers and songs of praise to God.

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 gunbattle, Israeli and Palestinian security officials said.