World
Orange Defiance
In a last stand, withdrawal foes camp out on the edge of the Gaza Strip.
DINA KRAFT
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Kfar Maimon, Israel
nder sparse clumps of trees,
thousands of anti-withdrawal
activists who gathered for a '
mass protest march to the Gaza Strip
take refuge from the baking sun and
vow to continue their struggle, no mat-
ter what.
They arrived Monday, July 18, from
across Israel — by bus, taxi, car and on
foot — despite unprecedented efforts by
police to block them, including declar-
ing their planned march illegal. Tensions
ran high as thousands of police, braced
for possible confrontations, were placed
on the highest state of alert.
Dressed in orange — the color they've
adopted for their struggle to prevent the
Israeli government from uprooting
thousands of settlers from the Gaza Strip
and part of the northern West Bank —
the protesters are making a last stand.
`How could you not come when Jews
living in the Land of Israel are being
forced to move out of their homes?"
asked Ya'akov Magness, 53, a clinical
psychologist who traveled with his wife
and daughter from their home in the
Golan Heights, far to the north.
The family, which camped out in a
tent on Monday night, said they'll stay
as long as necessary to show the govern-
ment that the activists can't be ignored.
Many of the 7,000 protesters
encamped in Kfar Maimon, a village
about 12 miles from, the Kissufim cross-
ing into Gush Katif, the main Jewish
settlement bloc in Gaza.
"There is the feeling that you must
show your support and do something,"
said Magness, a Memphis native who
immigrated to Israel in 1982. He sat
under a black tarpaulin strung between
trees on a grassy hill.
Some 20,000 sympathizers gathered
Monday night for a mass rally in the
nearby town of Netivot. Some then con-
tinued on to Kfar Maimon, but they
were prevented by Israeli police from
setting out for Gush Katif. Police cor-
doned off the entire village to prevent
the activists from marching on Gaza.
About 20 protesters were arrested
Tuesday after scuffles with officers.
Several people suffered light injuries.
The government declared the Gaza
U
air
7/21
2005
16
Israeli police scuffled with opponents of the Gaza withdrawal in Jerusalem on Monday. Police blocked thousands across Israel
from heading toward Gaza's main Jewish settlement bloc for a protest march.
Strip a closed military zone last week,
allowing only residents to travel in and
out. Decisionmakers feared that if they
left the area open, it would be flooded
by anti-withdrawal activists, complicat-
ing the evacuation of Jewish settlements
and military posts slated to begin in
mid-August.
The government's unusually strong-
armed approach to the protest drew fire
in Israel. Police were ordered to stop
buses en route to Monday night's
demonstration in Netivot, and they
threatened to confiscate bus drivers'
licenses — a move criticized not just by
the right wing but by civil liberties
groups and others. Roadblocks were set
up across the region to stop activists
from reaching Netivot.
On Tuesday, thousands of activists
spent the day in Kfar Maimon, attend-
ing lectures by rabbis at the local syna-
gogue and resting on air mattresses and
sleeping bags in whatever shade they
could find.
A large number of the protesters were
teenagers — boys in orange knit kippot,
some with their ritual fringes hung over
orange Gush Katif T-shirts, and girls in
long skirts and sandals with orange rib-
bons streaming from their wrists.
"We are religious, so we have a strong
connection to the land. We are against
giving any part of it away to someone
else," said Smadar Yechazkel, 16, who
hitchhiked to Kfar Maimon after police
halted the bus she and fellow youth-
movement members had planned to
travel in.
She was impressed by the large num-
ber of protesters who braved the journey
and adapted to police interference in
order to stand and be counted against
the withdrawal. "The people are the
ones who should be deciding what hap-
pens. This gathering is to show the
strength of the people," Yechazkel said.
A settler leader, Pinchas Wallerstein,
was determined to see the march toward
the Gaza Strip take place. 'As long as
this terrible decision stands, there will be
a constant presence to prevent this," he
told Israel Army Radio.
Moshe Abouchatzeira, 56, a carpenter
from Elon Shvut, a West Bank settle-
ment, said that despite polls that show
significant public support for the with-
drawal, he feels most Israelis oppose it.
"We feel most of the people are with
us, and no one can pull the wool over
our eyes. We are determined to prevent
any evacuation of any settlement in
Israel," he said.
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