Demo against withdrawal, Palestinians help settlers pack up

(11 Aug 2005) SHOTLIST Tel Aviv +++ Night shots +++ 1. Various of thousands of people attending rally in Rabin Square Gan Or Settlement +++ Day shots +++ 2. Exterior of settler's house 3. Sign 4. Various of Palestinian workers helping settlers pack up 5. Israeli soldiers arriving to help family pack 6. Boxes inside house 7. People inside house 8. Men taking furniture out of house and putting onto back of vehicle 9. Men piling furniture into van 10. Men loading wood onto truck Neve Dekalim Settlers 11. Tracking shot along human chain by roadside STORYLINE Tens of thousands of opponents of Israel's pullout from Gaza and part of the West Bank gathered in downtown Tel Aviv on Thursday evening for their last large-scale demonstration before the withdrawal is to begin. The demonstrators filled the square in front of Tel Aviv city hall, named after Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, who was gunned down there after a peace rally in 1995. Protesters carried signs criticising Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, architect of the pullout, which begins next week. The theme of the demonstration was "Gush Katif and Samaria, I pledge (allegiance)," a slogan painted in black on an orange background of many of the signs in the crowd. Orange is the colour adopted by the protesters to symbolise their struggle against the pullout. Gush Katif is the main block of settlements in Gaza, and Samaria refers to the northern West Bank, where four settlements are to be removed in the government's "disengagement" plan. Orthodox Jews, the main element of the opponents, explain their stand against the pullout by saying Israel cannot relinquish control over any part of the biblical Holy Land. Also, settler leaders warn that removal of any settlements will inevitably lead to further pullouts. Sharon has said maintaining 21 settlements in Gaza, surrounded by 1.3 million hostile Palestinians, is untenable. He said the "disengagement" will strengthen Israel's hold on its main West Bank settlement blocs, and he has pledged that there will be no further unilateral pullbacks. Settler leaders say they will send thousands toward Gaza next week in an attempt to reinforce the 8,500 settlers there. Many are expected to leave before the Aug. 17 deadline, some have already left but others plan to stay and offer resistance. In the Gan Or settlement in Gush Katif on Thursday, settlers continued packing. The Ya'akobi family's son is currently serving in the Israeli army. On Thursday Palestinian workers who have known the family for years, and Israeli soldiers worked together to help pack up the family's belongings. In the Neve Dekalim settlement, however, there were few signs of movement. Young people formed a human chain held together with orange ribbons to express opposition to the Gaza withdrawal. Neve Dekalim, Gaza's largest settlement, is populated by observant Jews who have vowed to resist evacuation. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...