Thousands Protest Israel's Gaza Pullout

NEVE DEKALIM, Gaza Strip Apr 27, 2005 — Tens of thousands of Israelis gathered Wednesday in the Gaza Strip's largest settlement bloc to rally against the government's plan to withdraw from the area, trying to maintain a carnival-like atmosphere of defiance despite a Palestinian rocket attack.

Though the crowd filled the central lawn at Neve Dekalim, the largest Gush Katif settlement, the turnout of about 40,000 was less than half the number the settlers expected, and some residents dismissed the prediction that thousands of the visitors would stay to join resistance to the pullout, set for July or August.

As the rally was in progress, a homemade Qassam rocket and two mortar shells fired from a nearby Palestinian area exploded nearby, slightly wounding a soldier. Though such attacks had diminished since a Feb. 8 cease-fire and deployment of police by Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, barrages have picked up in recent days, and the Israeli military is warning of a general upsurge in violence in Gaza.

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=708995

Friday, 29 April, 2005, 10:51 GMT 11:51 UK

"In Gush Katif, the bloc of Israeli settlements in the southern Gaza Strip, disengagement is coming ever closer, but they are still building and pouring concrete.

In one village, a synagogue was being hastily completed.

In the largest settlement, Neve Dekalim, a cement mixer tipped concrete into the belly of a giant extending boom, which in turn injected the cement-mix into the roof-space of a house - an ad hoc defence against Palestinian mortar bombs.

But the political lease on these settlements has almost expired.

Within a matter of months, troops will be coming to evacuate the settlers - by force if necessary."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4488695.stm