Israeli army completes withdrawal from Gaza and West Bank settlements

The Israeli army officials affirm troops had withdrawn from two more Jewish settlements, thus completing Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's historic pullout from the Gaza Strip and northern West Bank.

The army left the settlements of Ganim and Kadim - the first two enclaves to be declared evacuated in August - on Tuesday evening, the military said in a statement.

It pulled out of the nearby West Bank settlement of Sanur on Monday and Homesh last week.

On August 23, Sanur and Homesh became the last enclaves to be evacuated of Jewish settlers under Sharon's pullout plan.

Israeli military sources have stressed that unlike the Gaza Strip, the area evacuated in the northern West Bank will remain under Israeli control with soldiers continuing to patrol the district, the AFP reports.