Massive Israeli protest at Gaza Strip withdrawal

TENS of thousands of Israelis were forming a human chain yesterday in a mass show of strength against government plans to pull all Jewish settlers and troops out of the Gaza Strip.

Organisers were hoping for a continuous line of protesters from Nissanit settlement in the north of the Palestinian territory to the centre of Jerusalem, a distance of some 90 kilometres.

Up to 15 MPs from Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's Likud party were expected to take part in the protest, the largest organised so far against the so-called disengagement plan which will also involve the evacuation of four northern West Bank settlements but the de facto annexation of other larger settlement blocs.