When Prime Minister Ariel Sharon leaves for Washington, D.C. on Monday night at the close of the Passover holiday, domestic opposition will give him an angry send-off. Protests today and tomorrow will be held under the slogan, "You Have No Mandate."
In the U.S., Mr. Sharon will be working towards obtaining a White House declaration of support for his controversial "disengagement" plan, which calls for a unilateral withdrawal from Gaza and the expulsion of its 8,000-strong Jewish community.
A protest organized by the Yesha (Judea, Samaria and Gaza) Council is scheduled for tomorrow night at 10 PM, the planned hour of Prime Minister Sharon's departure. The demonstrators will stand with "You Have No Mandate" signs all along Route 1, from Jerusalem to Ben-Gurion International Airport. In tandem, Gush Katif residents will demonstrate outside Prime Minister Sharon's Shikmim Farm in the Negev.
The protesters will be pressing the theme that Sharon "Has No Mandate" to "surrender to terrorism and to uproot Jews from their homes." They will also decry any plan "to carry out a transfer of tens of thousands of Jews who settled the land by law and as emissaries of the government of Israel." To retreat from Gaza, the disengagement opponents will note, is to "grant a prize to terrorism and to ignore the warnings of the Chief of Staff, the head of the Shabak, IDF Intelligence, IDF generals and security establishment heads, who say clearly that running away from Gush Katif will increase terrorism."
Today at noon residents of Gush Katif and supporters held a protest outside Sharon's farm. The mayor of the nearby city of Sderot was among the public officials in attendance, calling upon Sharon to abandon his plan to eradicate the Jewish presence in Gaza. Sderot has suffered a series of rocket attacks by Gaza-based terrorists in the past three years, and is slated to become a bona fide border town if the IDF retreats from Gaza.
From the other side of the political spectrum, ultra left-wing opposition Knesset Member Zahava Gal'on is calling upon Prime Minister Sharon to address the parliament following his return from Washington. Gal-On explained that it is only fitting that the Prime Minister present and explain whatever understandings and agreements he reached with the US administration. By detailing the events to the Knesset, MK Gal'on added, Mr. Sharon can enlist additional support among legislators.
One issue certain to be raised in Washington is the cost of "disengagement" from Gaza and four Jewish communities in the northern Shomron. According to government officials, a withdrawal from Gaza and several Jewish communities of Samaria and Judea will cost about $1 billion. As reported earlier, the Americans have intimated that some economic aid may be forthcoming, depending on the implementation of the Prime Minister's plans for withdrawal from Gaza.
In the U.S., Mr. Sharon will be working towards obtaining a White House declaration of support for his controversial "disengagement" plan, which calls for a unilateral withdrawal from Gaza and the expulsion of its 8,000-strong Jewish community.
A protest organized by the Yesha (Judea, Samaria and Gaza) Council is scheduled for tomorrow night at 10 PM, the planned hour of Prime Minister Sharon's departure. The demonstrators will stand with "You Have No Mandate" signs all along Route 1, from Jerusalem to Ben-Gurion International Airport. In tandem, Gush Katif residents will demonstrate outside Prime Minister Sharon's Shikmim Farm in the Negev.
The protesters will be pressing the theme that Sharon "Has No Mandate" to "surrender to terrorism and to uproot Jews from their homes." They will also decry any plan "to carry out a transfer of tens of thousands of Jews who settled the land by law and as emissaries of the government of Israel." To retreat from Gaza, the disengagement opponents will note, is to "grant a prize to terrorism and to ignore the warnings of the Chief of Staff, the head of the Shabak, IDF Intelligence, IDF generals and security establishment heads, who say clearly that running away from Gush Katif will increase terrorism."
Today at noon residents of Gush Katif and supporters held a protest outside Sharon's farm. The mayor of the nearby city of Sderot was among the public officials in attendance, calling upon Sharon to abandon his plan to eradicate the Jewish presence in Gaza. Sderot has suffered a series of rocket attacks by Gaza-based terrorists in the past three years, and is slated to become a bona fide border town if the IDF retreats from Gaza.
From the other side of the political spectrum, ultra left-wing opposition Knesset Member Zahava Gal'on is calling upon Prime Minister Sharon to address the parliament following his return from Washington. Gal-On explained that it is only fitting that the Prime Minister present and explain whatever understandings and agreements he reached with the US administration. By detailing the events to the Knesset, MK Gal'on added, Mr. Sharon can enlist additional support among legislators.
One issue certain to be raised in Washington is the cost of "disengagement" from Gaza and four Jewish communities in the northern Shomron. According to government officials, a withdrawal from Gaza and several Jewish communities of Samaria and Judea will cost about $1 billion. As reported earlier, the Americans have intimated that some economic aid may be forthcoming, depending on the implementation of the Prime Minister's plans for withdrawal from Gaza.