Israel Completes Removal of Gaza Settlers in Disengagement

Israel's army commander in the region said the removal of 8,500 Israelis from 21 settlements in the Gaza Strip was complete on 22 August 2005, with Netzarim the last to be evacuated. The withdrawal was a unilateral Israeli decision rather than a negotiated agreement, and troops left later. Giving up land without a treaty was presented as a path to security, and Gaza's later history became central to every peace plan that followed.