JERUSALEM, Aug. 15 (Xinhuanet) -- Israeli army said Monday night that it has completed evacuation of two out four Jewish settlements slated for removal in the West Bank.

    The two "completely empty" settlements are Ganim and Kadim, the first of 25 to be vacated under Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's disengagement plan.

    Israeli army began formal implementation of the disengagement plan Monday morning. According to the plan, which put forward by Sharon at the end of 2003, Israel will remove all 21 Gaza settlements and four of about 120 in the West Bank.

    An Israeli army spokeswoman noted that Ganim, with a population of around 130, and Kadim, which had been home to some 75 settlers, "are the first two communities to be fully and successfully evacuated."

    The army is in the process of securing the two secular settlements and that all remaining property was being removed,according to military sources.

    Meanwhile, Palestinian security sources confirmed that theIsraeli side had informed them that the two settlements were now empty. Enditem