In a move that seen as provocative, some 25 armed settlers marched Friday through Palestinian villages in the West Bank in an attempt to reach the settlements of Sa-Nur and Homesh, both of which are slated for evacuation under the disengagement plan.
The armed settlers came from the settlement of Einav, located east of the West Bank city of Tulkarem, and passed through Palestinian villages located in Area A, under full Palestinian Authority security control.
“Nine settlers were arrested by the Israeli policeâ€Â, an Israeli military source said, “We are tracking the others downâ€Â. All settlers were released after being questioned by the police.
Sa-Nur and Homesh settlements were not sealed off to non-resident Israelis, while the Gaza Strip was declared a closed military zone in preparation for the implementation for the pullout plan.
An Israeli security source reported that Sa-Nur and Homesh settlements may be sealed off on Sunday.
Also, and Israeli military source reported of Friday that at least 2700 settlers from the West Bank, managed to infiltrate into the Gaza Strip. The source admitted that the army and police failed to bar the settlers from infiltrating into the Gaza Strip.
The source stated that at least 300 settlers from Hebron managed to sneak into the Gaza Strip.
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The Israeli police and army held a meeting in order to discuss the preparations of the first stage of pullout. The meeting was held at a military base for the Aerial forces in the north of the country.
