Thousands of troops, including anti-riot units and mounted forces, began their push into two West Bank settlements on Tuesday to clear out some 2,000 extremists holed up with an arsenal of weapons, determined to foil the last stage of Israel's historic 'disengagement' from the Palestinians.
Military bulldozers tore down the gates of the Homesh and Sanur settlements. In Homesh, two army deserters with army-issued weapons were believed inside, police said. Militants in both strongholds have hoarded firebombs and stun grenades. Riot police with clubs and shields marched toward Sanur, led by officers on horseback, all-terrain vehicles and water cannon.
At the gate to Sanur, masked youths wearing fringed prayer garments set fire to barricades of tyres and mattresses. On a rooftop in Sanur, a man blew a shofar, or ram's horn, as an appeal to God.
The West Bank showdown came just hours after the last settlers left Gaza, tearfully but peacefully. Security forces have said they expect the evacuation of Sanur and Homesh to be the most difficult operation of the Israeli pullout.
Some 10,000 troops have been mobilised to clear out the two settlements, where the withdrawal is being resisted overwhelmingly by militants from outside the communities, many of them West Bank youths known for extremism and rejection of the Israeli government's authority.
The West Bank episode threatens to be the toughest, ugliest and most dangerous phase. Even before the soldiers moved in, there were violent incidents.