Army Preparations

The planned disengagement from 380 square kilometers of the Gaza Strip and four settlements encompassing 770 square kilometers in the northern West Bank is a major tactical challenge. NIS 1.5 billion has already been earmarked for the operation and the army will employ three divisions - 25,000 soldiers - to clear 8,000 people out of their homes under a tight three-to-four week timetable, all beginning August 15.

The army has begun dismantling its bases in the Gaza Strip and northern Samaria months before disengagement (AP)

Tank crews, artillery units, infantry, engineers and other military apparatus will all be utilized to facilitate the disengagement. However, the IDF soldiers will mainly be used to enforce security. Police, with some assistance from the army troops, will actually evict the settlers from their homes.

Operation planning began several months ago in the Defense Ministry and the IDF Logistical and Technology Branch. Seven new forts and bases around the Gaza Strip had to be constructed in order to house the thousands of police and soldiers who will be deployed during the evacuation. Two major compounds - one near Kibbutz Zikim, south of Ashkelon, the other next to Kibbutz Nirim, near Sderot - were built as main centers of operation. One of them will contain a command and control headquarters, and the other will host a specially built media center. These compounds will also serve as parking lots and medical treatment facilities.

Troops carry army equipment out of Gaza (AP)

The army has already removed from Gaza non-essential equipment that does not affect routine security. As the start of the operation approaches, the IDF will ship back to Israel nearly anything that can be lifted by crane and put on a tractor-trailer, including pillboxes and reinforced rooms.

Because no military vehicle is allowed to be involved in the removal of the settlers' possessions, the Defense Ministry will contract for hundreds of civilian cranes, tractor-trailers, and heavy bulldozers.