Jewish settlers and far-right activists clashed with Israel Defence Forces (IDF) soldiers Sunday as army bulldozers prepared to demolish abandoned cottages in the Gaza settlement of Gush Katif, Israeli Army Radio reported.

During the operation, scuffles broke out between IDF soldiers and settlers during which a soldier sustained light injuries, said the radio, adding two settlers and a journalist were also lightly wounded.

A right-wing group opposed to the Gaza pullout had begun in recent weeks to refurbish the buildings, which were used as vacation villas by Egyptians before Israel captured Gaza in 1967.

Many of the old villas were little more than roofless, windowless skeletons of cracked concrete filled with sand and garbage.

Over the past few weeks, volunteers moved down the row of buildings, building wood frames for the roofs and covering them with red tiles, pouring new concrete floors, plastering the walls, installing new electrical, water and septic systems and turning them into livable homes for the reinforcements.

Israel plans to evacuate all the 21 settlements in Gaza and four in the northern West Bank in this August.

Source: Xinhua