April 27, 2005
Source: BBC News
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4491525.stm
On April 27, 2005 BBC News reported, "About 40,000 Israelis have staged a rally against Israel's planned pullout from the Gaza Strip. Protesters gathered near the Gaza settlement of Neve Dekalim and then marched to the Mediterranean coast. The pullout of all 8,000 Gaza settlers and four West Bank settlements had been set for July, but Prime Minister Ariel Sharon now wants a delay until August. Israel has occupied the Palestinian territories of Gaza and the West Bank since the 1967 Middle East war. Most Israelis are said to favour the withdrawal, but many Jewish settlers say it will encourage violence."