FROM WND'S JERUSALEM BUREAU

30,000 rally against Gaza withdrawal plan

Officials concerned Sharon strategy could spark Israeli civil war

Posted: February 15, 2005
1:00 am Eastern

By Aaron Klein
© 2010 WorldNetDaily.com

GUSH KATIF, Gaza – With more than 30,000 Israelis rallying here yesterday in an outpouring of solidarity for the 8,000 Jews who live in the Gush Katif area, a Gaza settlement block slated for evacuation this summer by the Israeli government, some officials fear the growing tensions could lead to major clashes once the withdrawal plan is implemented.

The protesters drove in from Jerusalem, Haifa, Tel Aviv and other Israeli towns, and braved the dangerous roads to the Katif settlement, which includes an expanse entirely under Palestinian Authority control where passenger cars and buses are routinely shot at by Palestinian snipers.

The rally featured concerts, dancing and speeches by leaders of the settler movement against Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's plan to evacuate Jewish residents from Gaza and parts of the West Bank. Most speakers urged a national referendum to determine whether or not the majority of Israelis favor removal of the settlements. Sharon has refused to conduct such a survey.

Knesset Member Tzvi Hendel of the National Union Party, a resident of Gush Katif and former head of the local municipality, said at the rally the Israeli prime minister "doesn't have a majority in the Knesset, and therefore, you must return to the people and we will win."

Protesters rally in support of Jewish settlers (Photos: WorldNetDaily).

Rabbi Yigal Kamenetzky, rabbi of the Gush Katif region, compared the Gaza withdrawal to the biblical splitting of the Red Sea:

"One can feel like it's just before the Red Sea split, as if there's nothing left to be done. We're at the stage where we can split the sea due to the self-sacrifice of the people of Gush Katif. ... With God's help we will continue through self-sacrifice and believe that it's possible to win this struggle."

Gush Katif, the largest Gaza settlement, has become the focal point of the current debate in Israel over the controversial evacuation plan. Hamas Thursday hit the settlement with 46 mortar shells and Kassam rockets fired from neighboring Palestinian villages visible from the Gush Katif periphery. Analysts say Hamas is expected to step up the violence against the settlement in the coming months in an effort to make it appear they are driving the Israelis out of Gaza, increasing the terror group's credibility with the local Palestinian population.

Sharon pledged to forge ahead with the evacuation despite the violence and opposition, and has reportedly been assembling special units to carry out the withdrawal. But many residents say they don't expect the withdrawal to take place.

"Sharon's government will fall," Katif spokesperson Eran Sternberg told WorldNetDaily. "He doesn't have the backing to carry out such a plan. I am sure there will be no evacuation of our town."

Last week, in a major defeat for the disengagement plan, Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom broke ranks with Sharon and announced he will lead a push for a national referendum to determine whether or not to carry out the withdrawal. Some commentators speculate Sharon's government might not survive the next few months.

And if the evacuation plan is implemented?

Officials in Jerusalem say they are worried about confrontations with leaders of the settlement movement and residents who refuse to leave their Gaza homes. Some are openly talking about a civil war.

As WorldNetDaily reported, a group of settlers is planning to disrupt the withdrawal with a series of revolts and actions such as causing traffic jams in protest, agreement to stop paying taxes, the removal of fences the military erects to keep settlers out and disobeying orders from the Israeli authorities.

"I'm not going anywhere," Anita Tucker, one of the pioneer farmers of the Katif settlement, told WND yesterday. "This land is ours, and we're not budging. My grandparents were refugees from Russia. My parents, refugees from Germany. I came here to Israel to escape persecution. I will not be made into a refugee by a Jewish government."