RAMALLAH, 11 April 2005 — A rally by Gaza withdrawal opponents at a contested Jerusalem holy site yesterday ended in a fizzle, with only a few dozen protesters showing up, but it mobilized thousands of police in full riot gear.
Police arrested 31 extremist Jews who planned to demonstrate in the Old City of Jerusalem, along with a West Bank Hamas leader who spoke at the holy site, but the mass demonstration of 10,000 pledged by organizers did not materialize.
Also yesterday, Palestinians in Gaza fired 70 mortars and rockets at Jewish settlements, in retaliation for Israel’s killing of three teenagers on the Gaza-Egypt border a day earlier, endangering a two-month truce.
Speaking on the plane carrying him to a meeting today with US President George W. Bush, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said the mortar and rocket fire “is a flagrant violation of the understandings” at the February truce summit with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, “and this will be a central issue to be raised in my talks with President Bush.”
Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz called Abbas and demanded that he deploy police to stop the mortar and rocket fire, his office said. Israeli media reported that the talk was difficult, and Mofaz warned that if the fire is not stopped, all the summit understandings could collapse.
Also, there were first indications that Palestinian parliamentary elections set for July might be delayed, and work began on incorporating fighters into Palestinian security forces. Despite the low turnout, Israeli officials admitted the protesters appear to have accomplished their main goal — proving how easy it will be to divert large numbers of troops from their main mission this summer, the planned Gaza pullout.
Clashes at the site could ignite violence all over the region, explaining the presence of 3,000 riot-ready Israeli police around the walled Old City, preparing to confront a handful of demonstrators.
Extremist Jews who make up a new group called “Revava,” stated openly that their goal is to storm the sensitive site in July, when thousands of Israeli police and soldiers are in Gaza to evacuate 9,000 settlers — forcing Israel’s leaders to pull the forces from Gaza, send them to Jerusalem and, in that way, stop the pullout. Yesterday’s protest, they said, was just a test.
— With input from agencies
