On August 22, 2005, the IDF evacuated the last of the Jewish Israeli citizens living in the Gaza Strip. The evacuation was part of the unilateral disengagement from Gaza, which had gone into effect on August 15. The disengagement had been approved by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon with the joint goals of strengthening Israel’s security and improving international status. Over 9,000 Israelis, living in 21 Gaza communities and four in the West Bank, were evicted from their homes. While some of these settlements were newly built, many had been around for decades; some of the evictees were third-generation residents of their communities. About half of the evictees left voluntarily, while the remainder were forced to leave. Many of the soldiers disagreed with this decision but followed through on their orders. The evacuation of the Israeli towns was completed a week after the disengagement was scheduled to occur.The government compensation for the evicted Israelis was lower than the market value of their homes and farms in Gaza. The unemployment rate of the evictees was double the rate of average Israeli unemployment.By 2006, Hamas had wrestled control of Gaza from the Palestinian Authority, under suspicious elections followed by a violent transition of power. Members of the Palestinian Authority, and many other individual Palestinians, were exiled mostly to the West Bank. Soon, Israel and Egypt would enable a blockade of Gaza to limit the transfer of weapons and terror materials, while Israel moved to improve its defenses in the forms of the Iron Dome and the Arrow defense system. Many who opposed the Gaza disengagement from the start still felt as though the wrong decision was made that summer of 2005. Hamas's continued attacks launched from Gaza challenged the idea that disengagement would lead to a more secure border.