Leading rabbis to protest Sharon’s withdrawal plan

ISRAELI Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s plan to withdraw from the occupied Gaza Strip is a key part of the US-backed roadmap to peace.

However, the plan has prompted anger in some quarters and his domestic problems could still scupper the agreement.

Leading rabbis decreed a “speech fast” yesterday in protest at the planned pullout from land some Jews claim as their biblical birthright and which Palestinians want as part of a future state.