The Yamit evacuation, however, was met with resistance by right-wing Jews, mostly followers of Rabbi Meir Kahane, who threatened to fight back against the IDF and even to blow themselves up if soldiers entered their bunkers. At 2 P.M. on April 23, the official evacuation began. Much of the resistance played out like a game of cat and mouse - soldiers climbed up barricaded houses; protesters threw down sand and burning tires. Soldiers sprayed white foam on the roofs; protesters moved into the attics. Finally, soldiers were lowered onto the roofs in cages and they were able to bring many resistors out of the houses. At some locations, the army drilled holes into buildings and sprayed those inside with high pressure hoses to force them to exit. In response to the protestors suicide threat, Rabbi Kahane flew from the United States to Yamit and convinced them not to detonate their explosives. While there were militant attempts to resist evacuation from Yamit, there were no casualties during the forced withdrawal. Soldiers were often unarmed, and any debris thrown at the IDF was not aimed directly at them. Both the army and the resistance made a conscious effort to avoid physical injury to the opposing party. After Yamit had been completely evacuated, the army demolished most of its buildings along with buildings in the thirteen other Sinai settlements. They did manage to save many houses, bomb shelters, and fruit trees that had been a source of income for the Yamit settlers. Any buildings that were salvaged were transferred inside the new Israeli border. Neot Sinai was the only settlement left intact; it was sold to Egypt. Sources: Jerusalem Post, Rabinovich, Abraham. "The Settlers Weren't the Problem" (June 23, 2005), "When Jews Evacuated Jews." (June 28, 2005) |
