Germany Praises Israel's Gaza Pullout

German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer on Friday hailed Israel's expulsions of Jewish settlers from the Gaza Strip as courageous and historic. "The Israeli decision to withdraw from the Gaza Strip and four settlements in the West Bank is a historic step and a mark of great courage," Fischer said in a statement. Despite determined resistance by some settlers and supporters, the Israelis and Palestinians had succeed in ensuring the evacuations were carried out without major problems, the minister added. The two sides had to continue to "follow the path of reason and clear sightedness," Fischer said. Israeli forces on Friday declared all but four of 21 Gaza Strip settlements to be officially empty or virtually empty with evictions to be halted at sundown for the Jewish Sabbath. The commander of the pullout operation, General Dan Harel, said
the last settlers would probably be evacuated by next Wednesday.