Israeli helmeted riot police besieged a synagogue in Gaza Strip's main Kfar Darom settlement where dozens of radical settlers were holed up in protest against the pullout. £¨Xinhua Photo£©

    GAZA, Aug. 18 (Xinhuanet) -- Israeli helmeted riot police on Thursday stormed the rooftop of a synagogue in Gaza Strip's main Kfar Darom settlement where dozens of radical settlers were holed up in protest against the pullout.

    General Dan Harel in charge of the pullout operation told reporters that radical settlers threw acid at the police forces who were trying to evict them from the roof of the synagogue."We have several policemen who have been wounded by acid and we will apply the full force of the law," he said.

    Media reports said that it was the most violent confrontation between protesters and troops during the Gaza pullout as the riot police were battling dozens of protesters who threw acid, sand and buckets of green liquid and tried to hit officers with sticks.

    Some of the troops landed on the roof in a shipping container and held up plastic shields against the onslaught, while others tried to reach the rooftop from ladders, witnesses said, adding the roof was sprayed by water cannon from below during the process.

    Meanwhile, Israel Defence Ministry said Israeli troops had started demolishing evacuated settler dwellings in Gaza's main settlement bloc on Thursday.

    Israel formally began the pullout operation on Monday morning according to the disengagement plan put forward by Sharon at the end of 2003, according to which Israel will remove all 21 Gaza settlements and four of about 120 in the West Bank. Enditem

Israeli helmeted riot police besieged the synagogue.

Israeli helmeted riot police stormed the rooftop of the synagogue.