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| By israelinsider staff and partners August 12, 2005 |
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| AP |
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Hundreds of thousands of opponents of Israel's pullout from Gaza and part of the West Bank gathered in downtown Tel Aviv Thursday evening for their last large-scale demonstration before the withdrawal is to begin. Police estimated at least 200,000 attended, according to state-run Channel One television. Pro-settler media claimed there were 300,000 present.
The demonstrators filled Rabin square in front of Tel Aviv city hall, carrying signs criticizing Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, architect of the pullout, which is planned to begin next week.
The theme of the demonstration was "Gush Katif and Samaria, I swear (allegiance)," a slogan painted in black on an orange background of many of the signs in the crowd. Orange is the color adopted by the protesters to symbolize their struggle against the pullout.
Gush Katif is the main bloc of settlements in Gaza, and Samaria refers to the northern West Bank, where four settlements are to be removed in the government's "disengagement" plan.
At the beginning of the rally, veteran settler activist Pinchas Wallerstein chanted the slogan, and the crowd replied in unison.
Yesha Council Chairman Bentzi Leiberman vowed that opponents would block the soldiers with their bodies when the pullout comes, but reiterated that the disobedience would be passive.
Lieberman addressed Sharon in his speech, saying, "We've already said that this program is destructive and must be put to a national referendum, or general elections. It's impossible to take such a harsh step, which no other country in the world has ever initiated, this way. We said that we would accept the will of the people. And we are saying now, after the resignation of the finance minister (Netanyahu) that we know that elections are coming up close behind your program of destruction."
He urged Sharon to "Go to the polls now and we will accept the will of the people. We said that if you don't do that, we will be there (in Gush Katif). The phenomenon of people crying out against the expulsion program, day after day, week after week, is unprecedented in the history of Israeli democracy," Lieberman said .
Lieberman added that ?the day of the order has, to our sorrow, arrived, and we will be in Gush Katif and northern Samaria. I call on all of you to whom democracy is important, and everyone who values the Land of Israel and its residents. "Disengagement will not be carried out," he said to the roar of the crowd. "We will not allow Jews to be expelled from our land."
Settler leaders say they will send thousands toward Gaza next week in an attempt to reinforce the 8,500 settlers there. Many are expected to leave before the Aug. 17 deadline, but others plan to stay and offer resistance.
On Thursday the military stopped giving permits to friends and relatives of settlers to enter Gaza, charging that many visitors have remained behind.
Security was tight. About 2,000 police patrolled the area of the demonstration, and each protester was carefully checked before entering the square. Weapons were banned, and police X-rayed bags, using airport-style machines mounted on trucks.
Orthodox Jews, the main element of the opponents, explain their stand against the pullout by saying Israel cannot relinquish control over any part of the biblical Holy Land. Also, settler leaders warn that removal of any settlements will inevitably lead to further pullouts. Others, among them military experts, point to the expectation that Gaza and the northern West Bank will become launching pads for terrorist attacks on Israel, with Palestinian terror groups able to freely import and transfer upgraded weapons.
Avia Elba, 39, a resident of the Netzarim settlement slated for evacuation, said he believed divine intervention would stop Sharon. "I'm waiting for a great miracle that will prevent this whole thing," he said.
Addressing her remarks to Sharon, Debby Drori of the Kadim settlement in the northern West Bank told the crowd: "You will be remembered as the person who laid the cornerstone of the destruction of the state of Israel."
Part of the rally involved presentation of tactical plans to stop the expulsion and destruction of Jewish communities. A leader of the Yesha Council of Settlements, Tzvika Bar-Hai, showed maps to the protesters and told them to make their way on Monday to towns near Gaza "by car, by bus, and by foot. We will then head for the entrances and routes into Gush Katif.
"We will not be stopped at checkpoints, we will bypass them from the right and from the left. We will not raise a hand against police and army personnel, we will reach our destination by use of our bodies and with our children. We will not confront anyone," Bar-Hai said.
"Neither the blows from police officers nor the batons of Border Police troops will deter us. We will cling to the ground until the prime minister faces the people and tells them he will hold new elections," he added.
On Wednesday, hundreds of thousands gathered at the Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem for a prayer service, asking God to cancel the disengagement plan.
The AP contributed to this report.
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