Rabbis call a fast in opposition to Gaza pull-out

JERUSALEM - Israel's pro-settler rabbis made a rare call on Sunday for a national fast to protest against a withdrawal from the Gaza Strip

It would be held on March 17, the day the pullout plan faces a crucial test in parliament.

Emily Amrusy of the YESHA settler council said the day was chosen because by the Hebrew calendar it marks the eve of the death of the prophet Moses, who led the Israelites to the holy land. Many settlers claim Gaza as part of a biblical heritage.

"For the first time in the country's history, great rabbis of religious Zionism have called a day for fast and prayers, by the authority of Jewish law," Amrusy said in a statement.

She said the fast was a protest against the planned evacuation of more than 8000 Jewish settlers from 21 Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip and four in the northern West Bank this summer. She said it aimed to "destroy the expulsion order".

March 17 is also the date when prime minister Ariel Sharon plans to bring his budget to parliament for final approval in a vote which could determine whether the pullout happens.

Far-right rebels in Sharon's Likud party who oppose uprooting settlers have vowed to vote against the budget. If he fails to get the budget passed by March 31, new elections would have to be called and the pullout likely put on hold.

Many settlers see Gaza and the West Bank, captured in the 1967 Middle East war, as a Jewish birthright. They also say that giving up any of the land would reward Palestinian violence.

Israel's parliament gave approval for the Gaza withdrawal last month by ratifying a plan to compensate settlers who would lose their homes. The withdrawal is set to begin on July 20 and last four weeks.

- REUTERS