Israel has sealed the Gaza Strip, signaling the start of its withdrawal from the Palestinian territory. Israeli forces cut off border crossings on Monday and made the presence of Jewish settlers in Gaza illegal. Troops are set to issue eviction notices to Jewish settlers, giving them two days to leave before being escorted out by Israeli eviction squads. On Sunday, police blocked roadways leading to the border to prevent radical Jewish protesters from interfering with the evacuation. Inside the territory, Palestinian police began deploying on the outskirts of Israeli settlements to prevent any Palestinian attacks during the withdrawal. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon proposed the Gaza pullout last year, saying the cost in Israeli lives and money was too high for protecting 85-hundred settlers surrounded by more than one million Gaza Palestinians. Israel captured the Gaza Strip in the 1967 Middle East war.