Thousands of Israelis form human chain to oppose Gaza pull-out

SINGING the national anthem and waving Israeli flags, tens of thousands of Jewish settlers and their supporters joined hands to form a human chain along a 55-mile route, serving notice they will fight Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s plan to withdraw from the Gaza Strip.

In the West Bank, the Israeli Army said soldiers shot dead six members of the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade in a gunbattle in the town of Tulkarem. Palestinians officials said five militants and a teenage bystander were shot in a restaurant.

Sunday’s demonstration was the largest yet against the plan to dismantle Jewish settlements and pull Israeli forces out of the Gaza Strip.