Jerusalem
More than 130,000 Israelis joined hands this week to form a 55-mile human chain, stretching from the Gaza Strip to Jerusalem. The demonstrators were protesting the planned withdrawal of Jewish settlements from Gaza. “You cannot expel Jews from their houses, houses they’ve lived in for three generations already,” said activist Shimon Levy. Around 7,500 Jews currently live in heavily guarded settlements in Gaza, protected by 20,000 troops and surrounded by 1.3 million Palestinians. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has said he will shut down the settlements and relocate the settlers, and polls show that a large majority of Israelis support that move. But the plan still needs approval from the Israeli legislature, where Sharon’s Likud Party and its coalition allies no longer have a majority.
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