Troops evict protesters from 2 synagogues

Troops evict protesters from 2 synagogues
Nearly two-thirds of the 21 Gaza Strip settlements have been emptied; protesters in one settlement douse cops with oil and paint

By Joel Greenberg and Rafael D. Frankel. Tribune foreign correspondent Joel Greenberg reported from Neve Dekalim, and Rafael D. Frankel from Kfar Darom

Published August 19, 2005

KFAR DAROM, Gaza Strip -- Pressing ahead with their operation to evacuate all Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip, Israeli forces swept through synagogues in two settlements Thursday to evict hundreds of resisters to the withdrawal.

The army expanded the evacuation drive to more settlements, and said that about two-thirds of the 21 Gaza settlements were already empty.

In Kfar Darom, police SWAT teams were doused with oil and paint as they stormed the roof of the synagogue to oust protesters who had barricaded themselves in the building.

Residents of Netzer Hazani set fire to homes, garbage and tires as soldiers entered the settlement, The Associated Press reported.

At the main Gaza settlement of Neve Dekalim, troops removed more than 1,000 protesters who had made a last stand at the main synagogue.

The confrontation in Kfar Darom was the most violent since the evacuation operation began Monday. Hundreds of protesters barricaded themselves in the synagogue and on the roof, ringing it with barbed wire.

Police broke down the front door and cleared out protesters inside the building, but their attempts to reach the roof in specially constructed cages lowered by cranes were thwarted by settlers brandishing long poles.

When the SWAT teams attempted to reach the roof with ladders, they were showered with paint, oil, sand and debris. One squad was hit by what appeared to be acid, and its members stripped off their clothes as their comrades doused them with water.

Using a water cannon and foam to disperse the protesters on the roof, the police managed to lower the cages and herd protesters in.

They were then taken down and put on waiting buses.

Earlier, soldiers evacuated settlers from homes in Kfar Darom, carrying many to buses.

At Neve Dekalim, about 500 men and male youths and 700 mostly teenage girls took refuge in separate prayer halls at the central synagogue, singing and praying as hundreds of troops ringed the building.

The girls were evacuated with little resistance, but the men and youths sat on the floor, locked arms and legs and resisted fiercely when soldiers burst in and tried to haul them away.

"A Jew does not expel a Jew!" the crowd chanted as soldiers pried youths from one another and dragged them to buses.

Some worshipers struggled and kicked as they were taken away. "You will not be forgiven," one man told the soldiers who carried him.

Many people wept, tearing their shirts in a Jewish sign of mourning.

After the room was cleared of many of the protesters, some settlers were accompanied by soldiers to the ark holding the Torah scrolls for a last farewell. Supported by the soldiers, they wept. Soldiers also cried, embracing the settlers.

"I'm torn inside, because the synagogue is the holiest place for Jews, and this one is being closed," said Sgt. Maj. Eli Algarisi, 29, who took part in the eviction. "I hope we all come together, so we never have to evacuate anyone again."

The pain was also felt Thursday by Sarit Sabbagh, a policewoman who supervised the evacuation of the Wexler family from their Neve Dekalim home.

Tehila Wexler, 15, had to be carried out of her room, and outside the house she broke off a tree branch and pulled up a handful of grass to take with her.

"This is so cruel," Tehila said, sobbing. "Don't you understand, I don't want to leave, this is my home. You are destroying our life."

Sabbagh wiped away tears.

After Tehila was put on a bus with her family, Sabbagh was confronted by a neighbor.

"You just took a family out of its home," the neighbor said. "How could you do it?"

"I did it because it was the decision of a democratically elected government," Sabbagh said. "It is sad, and it is painful, but professionally I believe in what I am doing."

©2005 The Chicago Tribune