Israel's army says it has completed the evacuation of two out of four Israeli settlements slated for withdrawal in the West Bank.
The settlements were the first of the 21 in the Gaza Strip and four in the West Bank to be vacated under the Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's planned withdrawals.
Speaking earlier in a televised address timed to coincide with the start of the pullout, Mr Sharon said that he shared the pain of the 9,000 settlers being forced to move but said he also understood the plight of the 1.4 million Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip.
Mr Sharon also threatened Palestinians with the harshest response ever should they attack Israel after the pullout is complete.
Earlier today, Israeli troops handing out eviction notices in the Gaza Strip were reported to have encountered defiant, but non-violent, resistance.
At Neve Dekalim, the largest outpost in the Gaza Strip, settlers joined by Jewish hardliners from elsewhere blocked the main gates, trying to keep the troops out.
A total of about 9,000 people have until Wednesday to leave all 25 settlements or be forcibly removed.
More than 40,000 Israeli soldiers and police are taking part in the operation.
The Israeli army said it would initially avoid areas where confrontation was expected.
Soldiers closed off access to the Gaza settlements at midnight local time as the withdrawal formally began.
Hundreds of the settlers, including those that moved to the settlements for economic reasons, are reported to have left already.
However, both the Israeli army and settler leaders have predicted that only about half of the settlers will have left by the time the deadline expires.
Many settlers have said they will remain on their land and will resist any attempts to evict them.
The withdrawal is the first time Israel has dismantled settlements in the Palestinian territories since they were occupied in the 1967 Middle East War.
