With just a few hours left to go before the start of the forced evacuation, a tense atmosphere prevails in the settlements of Gush Katif.
Rumors have been spreading that the army is planning to clear a settlement shortly, one of many reports circulating among those left
in Gaza. Every such rumor causes residents to feel even more tense, and in Neve Dekalim, residents believe that the evacuation will begin tonight, after the ultimatum giving settlers 48 hours to leave Gaza runs out.
Those rumors were strengthened this evening by IDF Southern Command Chief Dan Harel, who told a press conference that forces would enter Nave Dekalim “in the coming hours.”
“This is a large movement of families flowing out Gaza,” said Harel, who added that from Wednesday onwards, security forces would act against those disturbing the peace, and will carry out forcible evacuation operations.
Harel also praised cooperation with the Palestinians, noting a reductionn of Palestinian terror activities since the start of the disengagement, with the exception of three incidents that saw mortar fire, light weapons fire, and the detonation of an explosive device.
Meanwhile, smoke has been seen rising from a primary school in Neve Dekalim, the capital of Gush Katif. It seems that the smoke is the result of tires being set alight by anti-disengagement activists, and firefighters have been scrambled to the area.
Pullout coordinator at the Prime Minister’s Office Brigadier General Eival Giladi told journalists that at midnight, the bigger story would begin.
“A solution can be found for anyone who wants to leave, whether it's housing, education, or employment,” he said.
In the course of the day there were violent confrontations between those who remained in Gush Katif and security forces. Most of those involved in scuffles with the army and police were ideological infiltrators from outside Gaza.
A few of those involved in the confrontations were injured and required medical treatment, including a policeman whose eye was injured by bleach. The policeman was released from the Soroka hospital in Be’er Sheva Tuesday evening.
In an additional development, the northern part of the Gaza Strip was handed over to IDF control, after the three settlements in the area were almost completely evacuated. The territory was previously under the control of the police.
Many families left Gush Katif throughout the course of the day, passing through the Kissufim checkpoint on their way to permanent or temporary housing within Israel.
Families who will not leave by the time the forcible evacuation begins will lose a third of their compensation package.
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