Reporters' Log: Gaza withdrawal

For the past two days, Israeli troops have been enforcing the withdrawal plan to evict Jewish settlers from Gaza.

Around half of the 8,500 settlers have left but many have ignored eviction notices. There have been some minor clashes between Israeli troops and the settlers.

BBC News correspondents report from across Gaza as Israeli soldiers begin to forcibly remove people from their homes.

Orla Guerin: Neve Dekalim, Gaza : 2111GMT

This was the day of reckoning for the settlers of Gaza, their own soldiers and police streamed in to get them out.

There was no escape not even in the synagogue, the police came right in and took them away, still wrapped in their prayer shawls and reading their sacred text.

Many went quietly; others forcibly removed, torn from the ground.

There were difficult and emotional scenes throughout the day. Some cut their clothes, a Jewish act of mourning. This is a shock for settlers, they thought they could live on this land forever.

There were moments of madness, threats of mass suicide and one father dangling his child from a window. One woman headed towards Gaza and set herself alight in protest.

Five settlements were evacuated since morning, they believe the others can be cleared within days.

Orla Guerin: Neve Dekalim, Gaza : 1716GMT

Neither the Palestinian authority nor the Israelis want to see any escalation of violence at this point.

In spite of the shooting in the West Bank and the killing of three Palestinians, I think the withdrawal at this point is impossible to stop. It is going forward at speed.

The Israelis are emptying settlements faster than they thought they could. Nonetheless it is still a tense and anxious moment.

There's always a danger of retaliation after an attack like this. There have been suggestions from the Palestinian militants of Hamas that they are now planning to retaliate so it is bad timing, it's dangerous timing.

Richard Miron : Neve Dekalim, Gaza : 1558GMT

Once a bustling community, this now appears to be a place in its death throes.

Many of the red-roofed homes here are empty and the security forces are in a commanding position.

They say the day has gone surprisingly well, with little violence.

But many ultra-nationalist youths remain here, holed up in the synagogue and other key locations, and they add an unpredictable element.

Dislodging them will test the resources and patience of the security forces if trouble is to be avoided.

Jim Fish: Jerusalem : 1522GMT

Details are coming in of an incident where three Palestinians have been shot dead.

It appears that an Israeli settler from a nearby settlement grabbed a gun from a security guard and started firing into a group of Palestinians.

Three were killed immediately and two others are wounded and in hospital.

The exact identity of the gunman is unknown, but he is known to be a Jewish settler from a nearby settlement.

Jon Leyne: Kissufim : 1510GMT

Huge convoys of settlers leave with all their belongings piled on top of their cars. Many of them are shouting and screaming from their cars.

The settlers that have been removed forcibly are going off in coaches.

Jim Fish: Jerusalem : 1450GMT

By mid-afternoon Israeli officials were saying that the operation to remove the settlers from Gaza was going well and may even be completed ahead of time.

The Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev told the BBC that he hoped it could be concluded in days, not weeks, and that the level of co-operation with the Palestinian authorities had been very good.

He hoped that political dialogue and formal security co-operation with the Palestinians could be restarted, together with progress on the road Map.

Earlier Prime Minister Ariel Sharon had described the scenes of Israeli troops and police clashing with protestors and settlers as heartbreaking.

The army is reported to have negotiated arrangements with some settlement leaders for more time, in return for which they will leave together in their own vehicles.

John Shaw: near the Israeli/Gaza border : 1440GMT

There are confirmed reports from Neve Dekalim that a group have locked themselves into a building and were threatening to set fire to themselves.

The Israeli defence force are yet to confirm reports that someone has actually been burned or verify other reports of someone shooting themselves.

Jon Leyne : Kissufim, Gaza : 1415GMT

Long slow moving convoys are coming very slowly. These are the people who have negotiated with the security forces to bring out all their belongings even though it's way beyond the deadline.

Lyse Doucet : Neve Dekalim, Gaza : 1410GMT

Inside the synagogue, Israeli police have entered the area. This is the hardest part to crack. Israeli soldiers are waiting and the settlers don't seem to be going anywhere. Settlers have come as far away as the United States. Some American rabbis have taken refuge and are refusing to leave.

Richard Miron : Neve Dekalim, Gaza : 1259GMT

Army and police are on every street corner in this settlement, going house to house in an effort to persuade the remaining settlers and protesters to leave.

Some have boarded buses voluntarily while a few have been carried off unwillingly.

Many of those still here sit in their houses having lunch, even doing the washing, while waiting to be forcibly evacuated.

The signs and sounds of protest are everywhere as smoke from burning rubbish hangs over the synagogue.

The appearance of a government minister here provoked outrage and he was pelted with an egg before fleeing.

The security forces appear to be willing to let the protest continue - for a while.

But many here expect that their patience will soon run out and they'll adopt more aggressive tactics to complete the evacuation of this settlement.

Orla Guerin : Neve Dekalim, Gaza : 1205GMT

The army and police will be working here until darkness falls.

In some cases they are actually helping pack up for the householders prepared to go. In others they are getting ready to break into houses and take out the settlers by force.

Overall, the military are saying that the removal has gone better than expected and that most settlers have been passive.

They believe they will finish here by tomorrow morning if all goes smoothly.

Alan Johnston : near Morag, Gaza : 1130GMT

On the Palestinian side of the fence the situation is calm.

As the scene unfolds, locals are becoming increasingly relieved. People are saying because of the militant attacks here that the area was very dangerous and they have been wary of going outside after 5 pm for years now.

As the Israelis pack up and go, there is a unanimous feeling that it's a wonderful thing that the settlement and the soldiers that protect it are going.

James Reynolds : Neve Dekalim, Gaza 1123GMT

On one side of Neve Dekalim, it is eerily quiet, and there's a simple reason for that: the army has evacuated this part of Neve Dekalim.

It started in the morning, going house to house; it escorted out sobbing families onto buses. The families sat on buses and occasionally they would shout from the windows. It looks like they've been driven away.

About a block or so there is the main synagogue. There are the remnants of rubbish bins which were burning there earlier in the day. A lot of settlers have gone there to pray, and they're still praying.

On the far side of Neve Dekalim, towards the Mediterranean sea, there are settlers sitting out on their doorsteps, still hoping for a miracle.

One woman said she was still hoping for a miracle, despite the fact that soldiers may only be minutes away from evacuating her from her home.

Lyse Doucet : Neve Dekalim, Gaza : 1115GMT

We've heard form the Israeli army that across the Gaza strip some 832 families have left voluntarily.

There have been reports of some violence. The Labour cabinet minister Matan Vilnai was attacked at a synagogue and there has also been a grenade attack at an Israeli army base in southern Israel.

Lucy Williamson: Gaza city : 1100GMT

Militant groups in Gaza are congratulating themselves on Israel's departure.

On Wednesday, it was the turn of the PLFP. Masked militants and political supporters marched through Gaza City, partly in celebration, partly in a show of defiance.

The withdrawal from Gaza, they said, was good but not enough. Now, Israel must also withdraw from the West Bank.

Meanwhile, many ordinary Palestinians have been spending their days in front of the television, watching in disbelief as Israeli soldiers pull Jewish settlers from land that will soon be theirs.

People here have long said that they will believe the Israeli withdrawal when they see it with their own eyes. Now, that's exactly what they are doing.

Jon Leyne : Kissufim, Gaza : 1040GMT

Earlier on a lot of protesters, who don't actually live in Gaza and who had come down form the West Bank or the Golan Heights to join the protests, were removed.

There were some quite rowdy scenes as they passed in a series of coaches and police buses that bear the scars of battle, with broken windows and paint splattered windscreens.

Many of the protesters are still angrily shouting defiance from the windows at anyone interested in listening.

Jon Leyne : Kissufim, Gaza : 0958GMT

A spokesman for the Israeli Defence Force has just told the BBC that the first settlers have now been removed by force. They were taken from the small settlement of Tel Katifa.

The settlement originally had around twenty-two families. Those removals are in addition to a number of protesters who have been taken away, some of them in handcuffs, and also a number of settlers who agreed to go voluntarily this morning.

James Reynolds : Neve Dekalim, Gaza : 0950GMT

The evacuation is continuing. On the edges of Neve Dekalim, under the sun, hundreds of unarmed soldiers have been going door to door. Settlers have shouted and screamed at them but the soldiers have carried on. So far they have managed to escort several families onto buses.

They are also packing up the goods of some of those who have left. Many teenagers have now rushed to pray at the main synagogue. A block away a few have burned rubbish bins. They have scuffled with the evacuation force.

Other settlers simply sit and wait on their doorsteps. A few still believe a miracle will stop them from being evacuated.

Katya Adler : Elei Sinai, Northern Gaza : 0922GMT

There's a sense of amazement and not a little pride in this settlement. No one, least of all the Israeli authorities, predicted there would be trouble here.

This isn't a particularly religious Jewish community that insists that Gaza is theirs, right up until the last moment, most of the people left in Elei Sinai thought they would give up and get out.

Bags were packed and tears were wept. But after a day and night of meetings the two hundred or so men, women and children here voted to stay put. They don't want any violence but they insist on staying until the Israeli authorities find them alternative housing inside Israeli where they can remain together as a community.

Theirs will be a hot, humid and hungry wait. With the settlement sealed off from the outside world no food comes in and no rubbish or waste goes out. There are few creature comforts left here. People sleep on mattresses on dusty floors of their empty houses, many with doors and windowpanes missing.

Alan Johnston : Erabya, Gaza : 0911GMT

I'm in a Palestinian farming area, quite sparsely populated. There are no real crowds here, just a few people in the shade watching across to what is happening with the settlers, less than 1km away.

There is a security force presence here now, just watching the Palestinians, watching the settlers.

Here it is business as usual, but the Palestinians are delighted that the watch towers and the settlements are to be flattened in the weeks ahead.

Jon Leyne : Kissufim, Gaza : 0903GMT

All the troops, convoy after convoy of soldiers have been coming in at this crossing. Police on horses and with heavy lifting gear to move any blockades or settlers. I have not seen many people come out yet.

Some protestors have slipped in this morning and it is feared they will cause trouble.

Calls for protestors to flood the area have failed. They are not causing more than a minor irritation, they are looking like a bunch of lost campers and are being picked up by the police and taken out.

Lyse Doucet : Neve Dekalim, Gaza : 0859GMT

A truly historic process is unfolding here, an emotional time and distressing for the settler families.

Children and teenagers are confronting the soldiers, asking them how they can do this to fellow Jews and accusing them of betrayal.

The soldiers have been told to act with patience. We haven't seen any settlers been dragged out kicking and screaming. This is happening at 21 settlements across the Gaza strip and in the West Bank.

For the settlers here beside me now, the time is up. As they approach the last step towards the bus door they are still arguing with the soldiers.

Jon Leyne : Kissufim, Gaza : 0818GMT

The traffic has slowed down, but every now and again we see a bus load of protestors being taken out. The army are keen to round up visiting protestors first of all and then approach the settler families after that.

The Israeli army sound ever more optimistic about the whole process. Some are talking about having it all complete within a couple of days.

Matthew Price : Shirat Hayam, Gaza : 0812GMT

This settlement behind me is a beach settlement, created in 2001. 16 families live here permanently. They have been joined by a couple of hundred outside protestors.

There was a small protest earlier and there is one small barricade across the road here now. I'm don't think it is going to be easy here, this is what is known as a hardline settlement. The people here are determined.

There are a lot of teenage protestors here. I understand there is already an argument going on inside the settlement here about what the tactics should be.

The authorities here are expecting a tough time and already one of the army vehicles has been surrounded by settlers and has had its tyres slashed.

Lyse Doucet : Neve Dekalim, Gaza : 0803GMT

One female soldier has told us that it is difficult for them to carry out this task, the settler families are upset and talking to the hearts of the army and police she explained. She says they understand the settlers' distress.

She said the operation was going much smoother and easier than they had expected. The security forces here are unarmed but they do not know how long this is going to take.

Jeremy Bowen : Neve Dekalim, Gaza : 0746GMT

I'm at a kindergarten school where a couple of families are holed up with their children. It is very traumatic for the children, they are praying now. One mother is explaining to the army that this is about her children, about their education.

One of the senior officers warned this morning that when dealing with families with children that they had to take a very delicate approach, trying to wear them down more than anything else here.

Lyse Doucet : Neve Dekalim, Gaza : 0740GMT

House by house, the Israeli soldiers patiently wait for the settlers to leave. They've resigned themselves to their fate. There is great anger here, nerves are frayed and they are pleading not to be betrayed. Soldiers have been asked to be as sensitive as possible. The soldiers feel very torn by the situation.

Matthew Price : Near Gush Katif, Gaza : 0728GMT

Thousands of security forces surround Neva Dekalim now. A number of people have been arrested and I've just seen one teenage boy struggling to get away. They've all come here because they feel it's their right to defend this land.

Lyse Doucet : Neve Dekalim, Gaza : 0720GMT

For the last hour one family near us here has gathered outside their house, crying, taking photographs and venting their anger. The buses have been moving slowly through the settlement taking settlers away.

The family here are now taking down the flag of Israel, this kind of process is taking place in settlements right across the Gaza strip.

James Reynolds : Neve Dekalim, Gaza : 0712GMT

Israeli soldiers are here and the forced evacuation from Gaza has begun. At the far end of one of the main roads in Neve Dekalim, columns of unarmed soldiers have surrounded homes. They're now evacuating settlers.

By the roadside, one couple is embracing and sobbing. Soldiers are loading their possessions, including pot plants, a buggy and a stereo onto a bus.

In a house across the street, 3 female soldiers have escorted out a young woman in tears. A block or so away, settlers are still protesting.

They're burning rubbish bins. Black smoke is rising into the air. Hundreds of teenagers have gone to the main synagogue. They're praying and also chanting via a loudspeaker.

Matthew Price : Near Gush Katif, Gaza : 0709GMT

I am right on the Mediterranean coast, the dwellings around me, former holiday homes are where the protestors are now staying.

We don't yet know the timescale for the forced evictions, we are hearing that Neve Dekalim will be the first evacuated, here we expect movement to start this afternoon.

I have seen private vehicles and some people on buses moving out since midnight. I saw one orthodox Jewish man dragging his suitcase down the main road in the last few minutes. But most settlers tell me they are staying for this fight.

Months ago people here believed this would never happen, now they believe they need a miracle for it not to happen.

I have spoken to a Jewish man from California who has flown over here to support the settlers, he says it is tough for the people here.

Jeremy Bowen : Israel : 0701GMT

We're with a battalion that left its camp a couple of hours ago now. We've gone about a mile or so, not more than that, towards the border with Gaza. There are demonstrators right around the road, trying to stop people, successfully slowing down the convoy. At the moment the police are arresting them one by one, not using a great deal of force but wasting a lot of time.

Matthew Price : Neve Dekalim, Gaza : 0638GMT

Here on the main road running through the Gaza settlements, thousands of police and army personnel have been briefed and are now heading down the country lanes towards the main Jewish settlement, Neve Dekalim. They say that shortly their evacuation of that settlement will begin.

These are the sort of numbers we expected. The army high command had said they would come in large numbers and start using force to carry out the will of the government.

Alan Johnston : Khan Younis refugee camp, Gaza : 0626GMT

The edge of the Khan Younis refugee camp has the look and feel of a frontline. Just a hundred metres away are the defences that surround the settlements. There are watchtowers and Israeli tanks move through the dust, swivelling their barrels menacingly.

It's to this area that the Palestinians have been marching their supporters in what they call "victory celebrations." The largest was staged by the Hamas on Tuesday, with thousands of lining the sand dunes and waving banners. But each of the demonstrations has actually been fairly restrained.

There's been no spontaneous public gathering near the settlement boundaries. People here are absolutely delighted by the thought that the soldiers, the watchtowers, the checkpoints and the settlers will simply disappear in the weeks ahead. But for now at least, most residents of the refugee camp are just going about their business very much as usual.

Barbara Plett : Netzer Hazani, Gaza : 0608GMT

An Israeli army spokeswoman says the army has delayed for twenty four hours its evacuation of one Gaza settlement, Netzer Hazani. This is to facilitate a peaceful exit.

She said the deal was to send four hundred shipping containers into Netzer Hazani this morning. With an extra twenty four hours, residents agreed to co-operate with the evacuation. They'd only been threatening passive resistance but around eighty percent of the families haven't left yet and more than a third haven't begun packing.

The spokeswoman also said residents of another, more hardline settlement, Atzmona, had also agreed to leave without resistance.

Jon Leyne : Kissufim, Gaza : 0606GMT

The extraction operation will begin here very soon now. The soldiers have visited families this morning and have given some until lunchtime to leave.

So far there have been only minor scuffles.

James Reynolds : Neve Dekalim, Gaza : 0535GMT

Evacuation day has begun quietly in Neve Dekalim. Some settlers have already packed up and gone for good. But others, including many outsiders, are still here.

This morning, hundreds have come to the main synagogue to pray. Others are sitting outside their homes. A few have made makeshift road blocks out of rubbish bins to stop soldiers from coming in.

Israel's evacuation force has spent the night in the industrial zone on the edges of the settlement. The soldiers are expected to head into Neve Dekalim at some point soon to begin the job of removing settlers from their homes