Thousands of Israelis form human chain to oppose Gaza pull-out
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.
The plan, which has strong international support, including from the United States, has cost Mr Sharon his parliamentary majority and left him fighting for political survival.
Police put the turnout as 70,000 but organisers spoke of 150,000 participants. Israeli media estimates ranged from 70,000 to 130,000, including some members of Mr Sharon’s Likud Party.
People of all ages lined the dusty roads from Gaza to Jerusalem, many wearing orange baseball caps, a reference to the colour of the Gaza settlers’ movement, which organised the protest.
Hundreds of buses carried people to various points along the route, which began at the northern Gaza settlement of Nissanit and ended 55 miles later at Jerusalem’s Western Wall, with a few broken stretches in between.
The day-long event climaxed at 7pm when organisers called on demonstrators to clasp hands and sing “Hatikvah,” the national anthem.
As the demonstration was winding down, Palestinians fired mortars at a Jewish community center in the largest Gaza settlement, Neve Dekalim, wounding six Israeli children, one seriously. Hours later, Israeli troops killed a 50-year-old woman Palestinian woman in Khan Younis, a few miles from Neve Dekalim.
Almost all the demonstrators were Orthodox Jews who believe the West Bank and Gaza Strip are part of the biblical birthright of the Jewish people.
Polls show a majority of Israelis in favour of Mr Sharon’s plan to abandon the Gaza Strip but he is struggling to hold onto power.
Mr Sharon is trying to form a coalition with Shimon Peres’ Labour Party in the face of opposition from hard-liners in his party.
