Tens of thousands protest against withdrawal

Tens of thousands of opponents of Israel’s pullout from Gaza and part of the West Bank gathered in downtown Tel Aviv this evening for their last large-scale demonstration before the withdrawal is to begin.

The demonstrators filled the square in front of Tel Aviv city hall, named after Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, who was gunned down there after a peace rally in 1995. Protesters carried signs criticising Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, architect of the pullout, which begins next week.