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Police, marchers set for Gaza showdown

Protesters against evacuation settle into a camp near the border

KFAR MAIMON (ISRAEL): Israeli police on Tuesday encircled an encampment of opponents of Israel's Gaza pullout to prevent them from marching on the territory, and scuffles erupted between the protesters and security forces.

It was the biggest showdown between protesters and the security forces since Prime Minister Ariel Sharon announced last year that he would dismantle all 21 Jewish settlements in Gaza and four in the West Bank.

Protesters and police traded punches, and three apparently injured policemen were seen being dragged away. Police on horseback then moved into the crowd, and several demonstrators were arrested. Mr. Sharon signalled he would stand tough.

Sharon firm

``Ariel Sharon is not scared of 20,000 or 50,000 marching settlers,'' said the Prime Minister's closest ally in the Government, Vice-Premier Ehud Olmert.

Marchers on Tuesday settled into a makeshift camp outside the farming village of Kfar Maimon, 16 km east of the Gaza border. After a first day of marching on Monday and a night spent in sleeping bags and tents, demonstrators wrapped in white shawls held morning prayers on a dusty lot, swaying back and forth. Demonstrator Avraham Ravi (33), brought along his four children, ages one to eight. On Tuesday morning, Mr. Ravi, his wife and children sat under a tree in Kfar Maimon, getting ready for the second day of the march.

Israeli Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz said the marchers would not be allowed to move any closer to Gaza, setting the stage for confrontations.

Police have declared the march illegal. Regional police commander Uri Barlev said demonstrators could remain in Kfar Maimon indefinitely, but would not be allowed to move west, to Gaza. Police were deployed around the fenced-in village, and at roadblocks leading from Kfar Maimon to Gaza.

Police estimated that about 7,000 marchers had assembled in Kfar Maimon, while organisers put the number at more than 20,000.

The marchers want to reach the Jewish settlements in Gaza, and to participate in resisting the withdrawal, set to begin in mid-August. Police last week declared the Jewish settlements a closed military area, meaning only residents can come and go.

Police also beefed up barricades at the Kissufim crossing, the gateway from Israel to the Gaza settlements, adding rolls of barbed wire and concrete blocks. — AP

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