Israeli bulldozers have begun destroying houses in several Gaza Strip settlements after the eviction of their Jewish inhabitants. Television footage showed Israeli heavy equipment ripping red-tiled roofs from houses in northern Gaza this Sunday afternoon. To the south, 200 bulldozers were reported idling in the emptied Gush Katif settlement bloc as drivers awaited orders to flatten houses built during Israel's 38-year occupation of the Palestinian territory.
Earlier in the day, bulldozers smashed through burning barricades to clear the Katif settlement. Settlers later prayed alongside soldiers before boarding buses and leaving quietly. At the settlement of Atsmona, dozens of teenagers greeted troops with anti-pullout chants. However, no violence was reported there or in two other settlements (Slav and Elei SInai) evacuated today. The last of 21 Gaza settlements -- Netzarim -- is set for evacuation Monday. In the northern West Bank, Israeli security forces skirmished with some of the thousands of protesters vowing to resist the evacuation of two small settlements set to begin later this week.