Settlers’ leaders are planning a massive protest rally in Tel Aviv on Thursday night, in their last bid to disrupt the pullout slated to start August 15.
The Yesha Council leaders are planning to give protesters at the anti-disengagement rally a long list of instructions for disrupting the evacuation of settlements, Israeli media sources reported.
While the police estimate there will be around 50,000 people, the Yesha council said they expect between 100,000 to 150,000 to fill Tel Aviv’s Rabin square.
The demonstration is planned to begin at 7 P.M., meanwhile the police expects violence to erupt. At least 2,000 security officers and volunteers will be on site and positioned on rooftops surrounding the area in case of violence, the source said.
Implementing disengagement is to begin Monday morning, immediately after a Jewish Holyday known as ‘Tisha B’Av’ fast ends on Sunday night.
Settlers are planning to bloc the Kissufim crossing to the Gaza Strip by long convoys in bid to prevent the evacuating forces to enter the strip.
Kissufim crossing is the main entrance and exit for the Israeli forces during the pullout, which will make it a target for the anti-pullout foes.
‘The evacuating forces don’t have other roads for getting into the bloc except the Kissufim route, unless they’ve decided to break through the perimeter fence. If they do that, we’ll get to there too,’ Yesha Council spokesman Helik Navon said last night.
Earlier attempts by the settlers’ leaders to gather 100,000 protestors failed as only 20,000 showed up at their rally in Kfar Maimon two weeks ago.
As the pullout nears, Israeli army announced that thousands of Israeli citizens who oppose the pullout managed to infiltrate the Gaza Strip despite the imposed closure, which prevents non-Gaza settlements residents to enter the strip.
