Over 45,000 Set to March on Gush Katif

It's going down now. In Ofakim over 45,000 Jews are about to begin the march to Gush Katif. There are many thousand more still en route who are trying to dodge police road blocks preventing them from joining in the protest.

Just a few minutes ago, Tzviki Bar-Hai, of the Yesha Council announced. "We will not clash with them. We will march until we are stopped, and we will not move until the way is cleared."

Already there have been a number of defections from the IDF and police, some of whom joined with the protesters after they snuck through the barricades and marched to Gush Katif.

I doubt seriously the troops or the police will back down, but it will be interesting to see how the stand off plays out, and how many more defectors join up with the protesters.

***UPDATE***UPDATE***UPDATE***UPDATE***

08/03 4:30 pm

The protesters have indeed been blocked at the gates of Ofakim. Unfortunately, the police have attempted to incite the crowd into violence by having several special unit policemen brake into their ranks and provoke the crowd to a reaction. Bentzy Lieberman, head of the Yesha Council, had this to say just minutes ago, “It’s impossible that the police, under the guidance of the Sharon family, continue to bother democratic protests. This is a responsible population and the police are behaving violently.”

Stay tuned...

-MZ