Israeli forces have moved into Netzarim and begun evacuating some five hundred people in the last settlement in the Gaza Strip. The completion of the Gaza pullout is designed to end Israel's 38-year occupation of the Palestinian territory.
As residents sang a tearful goodbye, Israeli forces on Monday moved into the religious farming community where, unlike earlier evacuations, they met no resistance. The settlement leader, Eliahu Uzan, said the people of Netzarim were resigned to their fate.
Israeli forces move next to four settlements in the northern West Bank. There were clashes there Sunday between troops and protesters vowing to resist evacuation.
The Jerusalem Post reported Monday that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon says Israel will continue building settlements in the West Bank - a position that puts him at odds with the Bush sdministration. The so-called road map peace plan calls for a halt to the expansion of all Jewish settlements.
