130,000 protest over Gaza pullout plan

Mark Lavie, Jerusalem

During Sunday night's rally, one of the largest in Jerusalem's history, demonstrators pledged to try to disrupt the evacuation of settlements, set for this summer. However, the protest was unlikely to deter Mr Sharon who has stabilised his coalition, despite efforts to topple him.

"Ariel Sharon, you have no mandate to expel Jews," said Effie Eitam, a pro-settler representative, addressing a crowd estimated at about 130,000.