Israelis drag diehards from Gaza synagogue

Israeli troops pushed through burning barricades and dragged screaming protesters from a settlement synagogue yesterday in an assault on one of the last pockets of resistance to evacuation from the Gaza Strip.

Diehard Jewish settlers took to rooftops in the tiny Gadid enclave shouting "Nazis" as security forces swept in and cleared another of Gaza's main anti-pull-out strongholds to break the back of opposition to ending 38 years of occupation.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, addressing a cheering crowd in the southern Gaza Strip, called the first evacuation of settlements from land Palestinians want for a state a time of "great joy".

"This pull-out was the result of the sacrifices, patience and wisdom of our people," he said. "The more important step after the withdrawal will be how we protect, rebuild... and administer this land so we can set an example for the world."

More than 80 per cent of Gaza's 8,500 Israeli settlers have been evacuated under Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's "disengagement plan", and officials said they were far ahead of schedule since beginning forcible removals on Wednesday.

Buoyed by the latest poll confirming solid support in Israel for the evacuation of all 21 settlements in Gaza and four of 120 in the West Bank, Israeli authorities formally declared Gadid empty before the start of the Jewish Sabbath at sundown.

The army suspended settlement operations for the Jewish rest day, which ends this evening. Some 3.8 million Palestinians live in Gaza and the West Bank.