An Israeli bulldozer demolishes a house in the Gush Katif settlement of Peat Sade.

JERUSALEM, Aug. 21 (Xinhuanet) -- Israeli army bulldozers begun on Sunday to demolish homes in four of the empty settlements in the Gaza Strip as about 95 percent of Gaza's 8,500 settlers have gone since evacuations began last Monday.

    The demolitions are in accordance with an agreement between Israel and the Palestinians.

    Only one of the 21 Gaza settlements - Netzarim - remains to becleared on Monday.

    Israel resumed eviction operations after a 24-hour suspension from sunset on Friday to mark the Jewish Sabbath. Skirmishes were reported on Sunday between Jewish settlers and the Israeli army sent to remove them.

    Earlier, settlers at Katif had set tyres and bales of hay ablazeat the gates of the settlement in an effort to block Israeli troops from entering.

    Israeli forces also forced their way into the southern settlements of Atzmona and Slav on Sunday, where they faced only token protest.

    The Israeli cabinet gave its final approval to the clearance ofthree small northern Gaza sites and the four West Bank settlements on Sunday.

    Israeli troops are prepared to storm the two inhabited settlements in northern West Bank in the next few days. The other two are already empty.

Jewish settlers and Israeli soldiers cried in each other's arms at the Katif settlement.

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