Tens of thousands of protesters filled a square in Tel Aviv, vowing that Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza and part of the West Bank would not happen.

THE militant group Hamas yesterday agreed to co-operate with the Palestinian Authority in ensuring a smooth transition during the Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.

Tens of thousands of opponents of Israel’s pullout from Gaza and part of the West Bank gathered in downtown Tel Aviv this evening for their last large-scale demonstration before the withdrawal is to begin.

A major Palestinian militant group today declared it would fire no more rockets during Israel’s planned withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, after a deadly barrage inadvertently killed a three-year-old Palestinian boy.

About half of the Jewish settlers to be uprooted from the Gaza Strip and northern West Bank this summer are in talks with the Israeli government about moving, defying calls by their leaders to oppose the plan at all costs, officials said today.