Israeli troops ejected dozens of Jewish protesters from a building in Gaza on Wednesday, as anger at the planned withdrawal from the territory intensified.
About 30 protesters were arrested after they seized a house near the Gush Katif settlement in the Gaza Strip and fought a rock-throwing battle with local Palestinians.
The episode was compounded by roadblocks across the country mounted by hundreds of rightwing Israelis angry at plans to pull out of Gaza later this summer.
Adding to the tension, Israeli forces were drawn into their most serious clash for six months with Hizbullah after guerrillas in southern Lebanon killed an Israeli soldier in a battle.
With six weeks until Israel is due to begin pulling out of its settlements in Gaza and the northern West Bank, Ariel Sharon, the prime minister, said the government would take harsh action against protesters who broke the law.
”We cannot allow gangs to undermine the country,” he told his Cabinet. ”We have to act with an iron fist against hooligans.”
Sharon’s adviser, Brigadier General Eyval Giladi said on Wednesday that the withdrawal, which would remove almost 9 000 Israelis from land conquered in 1967, would improve the lives of Israelis and Palestinians by removing points of confrontation and may lead to a resumption of peace negotiations with the Palestinians.
Police launched a countrywide operation to prevent traffic disruption, but protesters still managed to cause lengthy tailbacks around several cities.
Some poured oil and nails onto highways, others occupied traffic lanes, in an ominous sign of the strength of opposition to the pull-out.
The main motorway between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem was littered with burning tyres. Police eventually resorted to water cannons to remove protesters, and 150 people were arrested.
The protesters have also promised a strategy to create gridlock in the country’s legal system and prison service.
In Gush Katif protesters attempted to take control of Palestinian houses in the Mowassi district, leading to stone and fist fights. One group succeeded in occupying a vacant building until soldiers stormed the property.
The more dangerous protests were criticised by rightwing politicians.
Michael Eitan, an MP in Mr Sharon’s Likud party said some of the protests ”bordered on an act of terrorism”.
Effie Eitam, another rightwing MP said: ”This crosses a red line. We are not violent. We are opposed to violence.
”He who spreads oil and nails on the streets violates a Torah commandment against endangering human life, and this must stop.” – Guardian Unlimited Â