19 years ago today, on August 15th, 2005, Israeli forces began implementing the Disengagement Plan formulated by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. The date was changed so as not to coincide with Tisha B'av and the preceding periods of mourning.
The implementation began with closing the Kissufim Border Crossing and canceling all permits for Israelis to be in the territory to be transferred. Numerous politicians at the time, including current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, supported the process, insisting that it would be a significant step to improve Israel’s security.
Israeli residents held a series of protests against the process, some of which turned violent. Some Israelis threatened suicide or self-immolated in protest. In many of the towns that were emptied, residents barricaded themselves inside buildings and fought the security forces with improvised weapons and projectiles. One man threatened to open fire on forces approaching his home but eventually relented. Some residents vandalized or burned their own homes as they left to prevent them from falling into Palestinian hands.
Over the next few weeks, thousands of soldiers and police officers would make their way through the Gaza Strip, assisting Israelis who wished to leave willingly and removing those who resisted by force. Four towns in northern Samaria were emptied in a similar fashion. By 22 September 2005, Israel's withdrawal from the entire Gaza Strip to the 1967 "Green Line," and the eviction of the four settlements in Samaria, were completed.
The protests adopted orange ribbons as a symbol, and they have remained a cultural icon of Gush Katif in Israel to this day. Artifacts from many of the towns were removed by the residents and brought to the newly established Gush Katif Museum in Jerusalem.
Israel had rejected the premise of a formal handover of the territory to the Palestinian Authority, and the Fatah faction rose to power in Gaza shortly after the Disengagement. They were defeated by Hamas in a 2007 election, the last one held for the Palestinian governance of Gaza until the time of this writing. Both the Palestinian Authority and Hamas have since petitioned for international recognition of statehood in Gaza.
Israel’s military redeployed along the Gaza border and set to work on a series of fortifications stretching from the Egypt-Israel-Gaza intersection, along the entire land border with Gaza, ending at the Mediterranean Sea. The defenses were completed by a blockade off the Gaza coast and a series of air defense systems to control the Gaza Strip’s airspace. Despite this, many Gazans would continue to work in Israel, and cross the border regularly to reach their place of employment. The IDF, through COGAT, was charged with the administration of Palestinian work permits for Gaza.
Arutz Sheva - Israel National News documented the Disengagement as it happened: