Religious Zealots Ready To March On Gaza

Lord knows I’ve tried to avoid even commenting on the right wing religious nuts trying to stop any pull out from the Gaza, but oh well.

Debka is reporting that the orders for tens of thousands of these folks to start marching from Kfar Maimon to Gush Katif is about to be given. Col. (Res.) Moshe Leshem, head of combined staff of the operation to halt the evacuation of Gaza Strip communities, promised the marchers will reach Gush Katif Wednesday night, July 20, on the third day of their protest. He pledged their demonstration would remain non-violent. ." A message issued by protest organizer Tzviki Bar-Hai and Ze'ev Hever, the head of the Emuna movement, announced, "We call upon the tens of thousands gathered at Kfar Maimon to be prepared to move out within an hour's notice."

These statements of defiance were in contradiction to one made by Bentzi Lieberman, a leading member of the settlers' Yesha Council, who said most of the protesters would leave so they could be home for the start of the Jewish sabbath tomorrow. Only a few hundred demonstrators would stay as a "forward base" for "various operational activities", he said.

The word in Kfar Maimon is that at approximately 7 PM (Israel time or about one hour ago or 12PM Central Standard Time), the signal will be given to head out of Kfar Maimon and towards Gush Katif. Rabbi Avraham Shapira is set to arrive for a 6 PM prayer service, to be followed by a mass gathering, and then the march will begin. Rabbi Shapira is a former Chief Rabbi and recently called on Israeli soldiers to refuse orders to remove settlers from the Gaza.

Rabbi Menachem Listman of the Machon Meir Institute in Jerusalem said that this morning, there was a "public town hall meeting" of leading rabbis and Yesha Council officials. "Amidst the speeches, it was clear to all of us that the rabbis are constantly guiding the decisions being made here. There are rabbis with different opinions who are sitting together - Rabbi Chaim Druckman, Rabbi David Dudkevitz, and Rabbi Reuven Netanel of Atzmonah - and are all guided by [former Chief] Rabbi Avraham Shapira in Jerusalem."

A Border Police commander told Israel Army Radio they’d put a halt to the march by encircling the settler encampment which is what they’ve been doing for the past few days. The police announced yesterday (Tuesday) that despite their "forbearance" until now, they would under no circumstances allow the protestors to continue towards Gush Katif.

We’ll see. Sources: Haaretz, Arutz 7, DEBKA, The Age (Australia)

UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE

As the OD goes the press DEBKA is reporting:

"Despite the high drama of an imminent confrontation, DEBKAfile’s sources in the protest movement report that there are no plans to break through the Kfar Maimon exits Wednesday night, July 20, or risk a clash with the police and the military that could touch off a stampede among the tens of thousands of men, women and children in the encampment."

"Tens of thousands of anti-evacuation demonstrators are standing eyeball to eyeball at the gates of Kfar Maimon facing 20,000 police and troops in a solid phalanx. The demonstration’s leaders insist they will march on Gush Katif and the police is equally determined to stop the unauthorized protest."

"The suspense built up for three days of an imminent collision between the orange mass and the men in blue and khaki is part of a war of attrition the anti-evacuation movement is waging against government forces. New crises will be manufactured every day to wear the troops down in the less than a month remaining until 21 communities are withdrawn from the Gaza Strip."

"Although so far the demonstration has obeyed the rules of non-violence, the suspense among the caged mass of people in burning heat is such that an unforeseen spark or an impulsive move on either side could torpedo this plan."

And from Haaretz:

"An anti-pullout march to the Gaza settlement bloc of Gush Katif appeared to have turned into a mass sit-in Wednesday night, as protesters and security forces faced off on opposites sides of a fence surrounding a protest encampment in the Negev town of Kfar Maimon."

"Police Southern District commander Uri Bar Lev refused rabbis' requests to let them march to Gush Katif, saying "we can't allow" it and asking them not to make the situation more difficult for the security forces - whom he called "the brothers and sons of all of us."

And from the Jerusalem Post there is this:

"Southern District police chief Cmdr. Uri Bar-Lev rejected the latest pleas from settler leaders Wednesday night to open the gates of Kfar Maimon and allow the right-wing activists, who have been there since Monday, to march towards Gush Katif."