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Short support for opponents of withdrawl Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050720/ap_on_re_mi_ea/israel_palestinianshttp://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050720/ap_on_re_mi_ea/israel_palestinians
Gaza Withdrawal Opponents Admit Defeat
By RAVI NESSMAN, Associated Press Writer
16 minutes ago
JERUSALEM - Some Gaza pullout opponents admitted defeat Wednesday in what they hoped would be their most formidable protest yet — a desert march to reinforce Jewish settlers. The movement appeared increasingly chaotic as the date for Israel's withdrawal nears.
Already penned in a farming community 12 miles from the crossing into the Gaza Strip, opponents suffered another blow when parliament overwhelmingly rejected a last-ditch proposal to delay by a year the scheduled mid-August withdrawal from Gaza and four West Bank settlements.
"It proved that the government, the Knesset and the public support the disengagement," Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said.
The vote came as thousands of would-be marchers baked in the blaring summer sun for the third day in Kfar Maimon, where some 20,000 police and soldiers are stationed to prevent them from marching to Gaza.
The orange protest ribbons still hang from cars, signposts and backpacks throughout the country, and scores of settler sympathizers managed to sneak into Gaza on Wednesday.
But the settlers, once a powerful political force, find themselves marginalized, said Nahum Barnea, a columnist for the Yediot Ahronot daily. "They are emotionally very, very frustrated. They don't know what to do," he told The Associated Press.
"It seems unlikely" that opponents can stop the pullout, said one despondent protester, Ari Shames, 36. But he added that he hopes for a last-minute miracle.
The protesters' tactics vary. Some have sought to persuade police to disobey orders calling for them to remove settlers from their homes. Others have pushed and shoved police in the belief the government will only respond to strong-arm tactics.
The contradictory and seemingly uncoordinated efforts are a far cry from the settlers' previous attempts to defeat the pullout, which kicked into gear the minute Sharon announced his plan last year.
Their campaign produced some astounding successes. They sent settlers and their children to make personal appeals to members of Sharon's Likud Party, leading to the plan's surprise defeat in a party referendum.
Sharon pushed on anyway. When opponents persuaded nearly one-third of Likud lawmakers to rebel against Sharon and try to bring down their own government, he formed a new coalition with the moderate Labor Party. On Wednesday, parliament voted 69-41 against delaying the pullout for a year.
The opponents have blanketed the country with demonstrations, posters and orange ribbons of protest, and the protests are credited with helping reduce public backing for the pullout — though more than half the country still supports it, according to recent polls.
As the protesters waited in Kfar Maimon, some of their leaders urged backing down. Others vowed to push on to the Gush Katif settlements.
Yitzhak Levy, a lawmaker and settler leader, acknowledged reaching Gaza was unrealistic. He suggested marchers seek permission to continue for another five miles before dispersing well short of Gaza. The protest's aim, Levy said, is to show opposition and not to clash with security forces.
But settler leader Pinhas Wallerstein said protesters would not abandon their goal. "We are on our way to Gush Katif. It will take as long as it takes," he said.
Other settlers have begun smaller, ad hoc protests.
Despite the military closure of Gaza, settlers have smuggled hundreds of sympathizers to fortify communities there against the pullout.
About 40 new families filled a camp in the beachside settlement of Shirat Hayam, sleeping in tents made of green tarps wrapped around wooden or steel frames. Workers were pouring concrete floors for more tents.
"Only a great mass of people can stop the disengagement," said Zeev Zefran, an Israeli who sneaked into Gaza on Wednesday.
In Gaza City, meanwhile, the ruling Fatah party and the opposition Hamas said their armed confrontation of several days is over, but Egyptian mediators said they would stay until after the Israeli pullout to make sure internal fighting does not flare up.
The two rivals are vying for control of Gaza after Israel leaves. Early Wednesday, the sides announced an agreement to take their gunmen off the streets and restore calm. A few hours later, gunmen opened fire on the homes of Palestinian police chief Rashid Abu Shbak and Fatah leader Abdullah Franji. No one was hurt.
Ismail Haniyeh, a Hamas leader, called on Hamas members to show restraint. Sufian Abu Zaydeh, a Fatah leader and Cabinet minister, said the situation was under control.
Egypt has played a key role in mediating between rival factions. In an effort to ensure a smooth handover from Israel to the Palestinians, Egypt will send army officers and post one in each Palestinian security unit taking control of areas Israel evacuates, an Egyptian official said. The officers are to arrive this week, he said.
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