Israelis Fire On Militants

Increase In Palestinian Militant Attacks Threatens Cease-Fire

(CBS/AP)  Protesters have said they would not be deterred by arrests and jail time.

During Tuesday's court hearings, young supporters of the detainees, most of them teenagers with large skullcaps and ritual fringes identifying them as Orthodox Jews, sang and danced outside the courtrooms, encouraging their friends as they were taken inside, many in handcuffs.

Extra judges were brought in to handle hearings for more than 300 protesters. Police agreed to release about 130 with a ban on similar protests for 60 days.The protest ban would expire in mid-July, just as the activists move into high gear in their drive to scuttle the pullout.

Organizers called the road blocking a success, noting that they tied up thousands of police. In August, they believe, diverting such large numbers from Gaza would cause cancelation of the evacuation.

Israel's new Shin Bet security chief, Yuval Diskin, warned that the pullout could lead to "Jewish terrorism," according to Israeli media. Diskin was addressing a closed session of the parliament's Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee.

On Tuesday, Sharon toured sites where the 8,500 Gaza settlers are to be moved after their evacuation from Gaza — several small villages in the Negev Desert, not far from Gaza, and the coastal area of Nitzanim, the main site. He ordered construction teams to speed up their work so that the new housing will be ready in time.

Pounding on the hood of a vehicle, he implored, "There's not a minute to spare. You keep discussing, you keep requesting, you keep consulting. We've agreed on this — (now) get to work!"

Though militant settler leaders are trying to present a united front against the pullout, promising strong nonviolent resistance, a major crack in the facade appeared on Tuesday when a settler official said that about one-quarter of the 1,600 Gaza settler families have signed up for new housing in Israel.