Gaza Tensions Boil Over

Israeli police struggle with protesters blocking the road to the settlement of Neve Dekalim.  (Carolyn Cole / LAT)

Hundreds of Israeli police faced off with protesters for hours in an attempt to move into the Neve Dekalim settlement and distribute evacuation notices.  (Carolyn Cole / LAT)

A boy cries as he is detained by police. He and many other protesters were attempting to block the main road in Neve Dekalim.  (Carolyn Cole / LAT)

Protesters and police clash outside the Gaza settlement of Neve Dekalim as authorities attempt to deliver eviction notices.  (Carolyn Cole / LAT)

The Star of David hangs around the neck of an Israeli policeman who is part of the large force that entered Neve Dekalim.  (Carolyn Cole / LAT)

Israeli police struggle with a protester being arrested for blocking the road to the settlement of Neve Dekalim.  (Carolyn Cole / LAT)

A protester in Neve Dekalim is arrested for blocking the road.  (Carolyn Cole / LAT)

Israeli police struggle with protesters who were trying to prevent them from entering the settlement of Neve Dekalim.  (Carolyn Cole / LAT)

A man runs past trash set on fire by Israeli protesters in Neve Dekalim.  (Carolyn Cole / LAT)

Residents and supporters in the settlement of Neve Dekalim stand in prayer near the main entrance on the day that police are scheduled to enter to deliver evacuation notices.  (Carolyn Cole / LAT)

A young Israeli protester, exhausted by the struggle, falls asleep sitting up on the sidewalk. Many of the protesters fighting the evacuation are not from Neve Dekalim, and have been camping in the settlements for weeks in anticipation of this day.  (Carolyn Cole / LAT)

Residents and supporters in the settlement of Neve Dekalim stand at the main entrance to prevent police from delivering evacuation notices.  (Carolyn Cole / LAT)

Residents and supporters in the settlement of Neve Dekalim stand in force near the main entrance to prevent police from entering to deliver evacuation notices.  (Carolyn Cole / LAT)

An Israeli soldier motions for a Palestinian to get off his bike and give a wide berth away from the Shirat HaYam settlement. Jewish settlers in the beachfront enclave of Shirat HaYam wait anxiously for the Israeli Defense Forces to arrive, bringing their orders to vacate the Gaza land they have occupied for decades. Trouble in the neighboring settlement of Neve Dekalim may have brought them a temporary reprieve as soldiers were occupied there and could not deliver the papers in the morning as they had planned.  (Brian Vander Brug / LAT)

Residents and supporters in the settlement of Neve Dekalim stand in prayer near the main entrance on the day that police are scheduled to enter to deliver evacuation notices.  (Carolyn Cole / LAT)

Women stand in force at one of the main gates to the settlement of Neve Dekalim to prevent police from entering with the intention of delivering evacuation notices.  (Carolyn Cole / LAT)

Women stand in force at one of the main gates to the settlement of Neve Dekalim to prevent police from entering with the intention of delivering evacuation notices.  (Carolyn Cole / LAT)

Israeli police march down the main road in Gush Katif on their way to Neve Dekalim where residents and supporters stand in force at the main entrance to prevent police from entering to deliver evacuation notices.  (Carolyn Cole / LAT)

A burning tire fills the air with smoke set by residents and protesters from Neve Dekalim who oppose the beginning of the evacuation process. Many of the protesters are young children. Police did not enter the settlement, but were successful in getting moving trucks and packers past the human roadblock.  (Carolyn Cole / LAT)

An Israeli soldier prods Jewish settlers to unlock the front gate which they had padlocked shut and barricaded with barbed wire. Jewish settlers in the beachfront enclave of Shirat HaYam wait anxiously for the Israeli Defense Forces to arrive, bringing their order to vacate the Gaza land they have occupied for decades.  (Brian Vander Brug / LAT)

Residents and supporters in the settlement of Neve Dekalim stand in prayer near the main entrance on the day that police are scheduled to enter to deliver evacuation notices.  (Carolyn Cole / LAT)

Jewish settlers in the beachfront enclave of Shirat HaYam wait anxiously for the Israeli Defense Forces to arrive, bringing their order to vacate the Gaza land they have occupied for decades.  (Brian Vander Brug / LAT)

Arieh Yitshaki talks to followers on a bullhorn at the gates of the Jewish settlement of Shirat HaYam as they wait anxiously for the Israeli Defense Forces to arrive, bringing their order to vacate the Gaza land they have occupied for decades. Yikshaki has advocated violence to keep the settlers’ hold on the occupied Gaza land.  (Brian Vander Brug / LAT)

Jewish settlers in the beach front enclave of Shirat HaYam wait anxiously for the Israeli Defense Forces to arrive, bringing their order to vacate the Gaza land they have occupied for decades. Trouble in the neighboring settlement of Neve Dekalim may have brought them a temporary reprieve as soldiers were occupied there and could not deliver the papers in the morning as they had planned.  (Brian Vander Brug / LAT)

Jewish settlers in the beachfront enclave of Shirat HaYam wait anxiously for the Israeli Defense Forces to arrive, bringing their order to vacate the Gaza land they have occupied for decades.  (Brian Vander Brug / LAT)

A settler prays behind barbed wire and concrete separating the enclave of Shirat HaYam and Palestinian land. Many of the religious as well as secular Jews are praying for a miracle from God to save their way of life.  (Brian Vander Brug / LAT)

Israeli soldiers guard the border at dawn between Israeli settlements and the Palestinian Gaza Strip to guard against attacks during the pullout.  (Brian Vander Brug / LAT)

A burning tire fills the air with smoke as residents and protesters from Neve Dekalim oppose the beginning of the evacuation process of their settlement. Police did not enter the settlement, but were successful in getting moving trucks and packers past the human roadblock.  (Carolyn Cole / LAT)

Protesters bar an Israeli army jeep from entering the Jewish settlement of Neve Dekalim in Gaza today. The army said troops would refrain for now from going into five settlements where residents had made clear that soldiers were unwelcome.  (Oded Balilty / AP)

A Neve Dekalim resident sets fire to some of his belongings before leaving. “The settlements must be evacuated; the settlers cannot remain,” Israeli Vice Premier Shimon Peres said.  (Carolyn Cole / LAT)

Hundreds of people gathered at the Neve Dekalim cemetery for Tisha B’Av, a holiday marking the destruction of the ancient Jewish temples.  (Carolyn Cole / LAT)

Khalil Bashir and his wife, Suad, are looking forward to the Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. “This loss of theirs, the settlers, echoes what we have felt here for so long in Palestine, with the Israeli seizure of so much of our land,” he says.  (Carolyn Cole / LAT)

Dan Amiel, 20, a Jewish settler in Gaza who lost part of his leg to a Palestinian rocket attack, is among those who feel betrayed by the government.  (Ilan Mizrahi / For The Times)

Members of Hamas Military Wing, called the Qessam Brigades, show off their force in celebration of the upcoming withdrawal of the Israeli settlers. They believe that it was their determination and force that lead to the pullout.  (Carolyn Cole / LAT)

A young Palestinian boy runs through the streets with a toy gun in an area where life is filled with war and violence.  (Carolyn Cole / LAT)

Women gather together at one of the Synagogues in Neve Dekalim to mourn on Tisha B’Av, the Jewish holiday marking the destruction of the Temple. This year the holiday is even more emotional due to the upcoming deadline for their evacuation.  (Carolyn Cole / LAT)