Police trying to clear a path for moving trucks scuffled yesterday with hundreds of Gaza pullout opponents, who threw empty water bottles and torched a garbage container in the worst violence since the start of the withdrawal. At least 50 people were detained in Gaza's largest settlement.
The confrontation in Neve Dekalim erupted just hours ahead of a midnight deadline for all Jewish settlers to leave the Gaza Strip voluntarily or face forcible removal. Officials said they were hopeful at least half the settlers would leave before the deadline, but warned of tough action against anyone who resists.
After failing to enter Neve Dekalim on Monday, police burst into the community early yesterday and dismantled the main entrance gate to clear the way for some 120 moving trucks to enter. Officers cut the electric gate with a saw, then dragged the metal barrier away and threw it on the side of a road.
Within hours, a large crowd of predominantly young people blocked the entrance to Neve Dekalim and refused to let the trucks enter. When security forces tried to push back the crowd, scuffles erupted.
Protesters set fire to a garbage container, and splattered white paint in the road. Protesters, who wore the orange color of pullout opponents, pelted police with plastic water bottles while a water cannon put out the fire. Several people had bloody faces, and four officers were hurt.
"We will do all we can to protect ourselves against the wolves," said Yehuda Glick, a protest leader who urged security forces to disobey orders. "How can you do this to another Jew?"
The army said 50 people were detained and expelled from Gaza, and police were seen carrying off flailing protesters grabbing them by their arms and legs. After several hours, traffic remained at a standstill.
As the standoff continued, a family of settlers tried to leave Neve Dekalim in a jeep carrying four mattresses on the roof and pulling a small trailer. A young girl inside was crying as the crowd prevented the vehicle from moving.
The three-week operation to evacuate Gaza began Monday with the distribution of eviction notices to settlers. Israel plans to remove all 21 settlements from Gaza and four from the West Bank. It is the first time Israel has removed veteran settlements from either area, which are claimed by the Palestinians for a future, independent state.
By midday yesterday, three Gaza settlements and two West Bank communities were empty, while five other Gaza settlements were rapidly thinning out, Israeli media said. But people in several communities appeared to be digging in for a fight.
"We cannot hold Gaza for good," Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said.
"More than a million Palestinians live there, doubling their numbers every generation."
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.
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