World

Major Protest Against Gaza Pullout

April 27, 2005 / 1:20 PM EDT / CBS/AP

Thousands of Israelis poured into the Gaza Strip's main Jewish settlement bloc Wednesday to protest this summer's planned withdrawal, show support for the 8,000 settlers and bid farewell to the area Israel occupied for 38 years.

Cars and vans were flying protest banners saying, "Jews should not expel Jews," reports CBS News Correspondent Robert Berger. Some protesters carried orange balloons.

In other developments:

Israeli police clashed with thousands of ultra-Orthodox protesters in Jerusalem, angry over what they said is the desecration of ancient Jewish graves by a road construction project in northern Israel. Demonstrators blocked streets with burning trash cans, and threw rocks and bottles at police.

Russian President Vladimir Putin was to arrive in Israel Wednesday for a historic visit — the first Kremlin leader to visit Israel. It's a sign of improving ties after decades of strain during the Soviet era, when Moscow backed Arab countries at war with the Jewish state.

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas has appointed a tough new security chief, who launched a crackdown against Islamic militants in the 1990s. Rashid Abu Shbak, who will be the head of preventive security, has been instructed to restore law and order. Abbas is under pressure from the U.S. and Israel to crack down on militants responsible for hundreds of suicide bombings and shooting attacks.

Israeli troops on Wednesday detained two Palestinian teenagers who tried to carry weapons and explosives through a West Bank checkpoint. The army said the youths were carrying a homemade gun and 11 small explosive devices in a bag at the Jalameh crossing near Jenin. The army said the boys were 15 and 16 years old. But speaking from the back of an army jeep, they said they are 14.

The Israeli army said Palestinian militants fired a mortar shell into a Jewish settlement near the rally. A soldier was injured by shrapnel.

Gaza settler leaders said they expect at least 100,000 people, which would make it one of the largest demonstrations since Prime Minister Ariel Sharon announced the pullout plan last year. Turnout was expected to be bolstered by warm weather and the Passover holiday, when schools are closed and many people are on vacation.

Protester Michael Goldman said the pullout is a reward for terror and won't accomplish anything.

"The Arabs want us dead, they don't want peace, they don't love us, they want to blow us up," Goldman said.

Some settler leaders have expressed hope that the protesters will stay in Gaza to resist the withdrawal. However, Avner Shimon, mayor of the Gaza settlements, said he expected the visitors to leave after Passover.
"People are coming to enjoy themselves, see the place and hug us and to tell us they are with us. I estimate that nobody will remain when it is over," he told Israel Army Radio.

Early Wednesday, the Israeli army closed the main crossing into the Gush Katif bloc of settlements to private cars, allowing only buses through. Army Radio said 1,500 buses were expected to reach Gush Katif.

Organizers were selling orange flags and T-shirts, symbols of opposition to the withdrawal. A procession through Gaza's seaside settlement began at midmorning, and a steady stream of people marched through the area.

Neve Dekalim resident Sylvia Mazuz said the festive atmosphere was misleading. "Our hearts are heavy," said Mazuz, 44, who has lived in the settlement for 14 years.

Mazuz, whose husband, four children and grandchildren all live in the settlement, said she has made no preparations for life after withdrawal and remains hopeful that the government will cancel the plan.

"We are waiting for salvation from God," she said, adding that she would resist the evacuation order solely through peaceful means.

Under the plan, Israel will withdraw from all 21 Gaza settlements as well as four small settlements in the West Bank. About 9,000 Jewish settlers are slated to be evacuated from their homes.

Sharon says the withdrawal will improve Israel's security while enabling him to cement Israeli control over large blocs of settlements in the West Bank. Since Sharon announced the plan, settlers have held a number of large rallies in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Wednesday's rally was expected to be the largest protest inside Gaza so far.

"We want to create a sense in the public that this move is illegitimate," said Chaniel Nahari, who came to Wednesday's protest from his home in central Israel. "The government is caving in to terror and isn't achieving anything."

Nahari and his wife, Tovie, both schoolteachers, said they plan on moving to Gaza in about six weeks and will stay with friends throughout the withdrawal. They said they plan only passive resistance, but conceded there may be some extremists who will use violence against Israeli troops carrying out the evacuation.

The withdrawal is currently scheduled to begin in late July. But the government is considering a three-week delay that would push back the plan until Aug. 15. A formal decision is expected next week.

Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia, meanwhile, said the Palestinian Authority will establish a special court to examine property claims after the Israeli withdrawal. Palestinian officials estimate more than 90 percent of land from which Israel will withdraw belongs to the Palestinian government, and that the remainder is private property confiscated by Israel.

"No one is allowed to buy or sell any piece of land in the occupied settlements because this is illegal and we are not going to recognize that," Qureia said Tuesday after a Cabinet meeting.

Although there has been a sharp drop in violence since the truce declaration, Israeli security officials said Wednesday that Palestinian militants in the West Bank are planning a new wave of attacks after the Israeli withdrawal.