AL QUDS, May 16: Jewish ultranationalists, some setting tyres ablaze, paralysed rush hour traffic in Israel on Monday in the biggest such protest against a planned withdrawal from settlements in the occupied Gaza Strip. Settlers and their supporters have vowed to bring Israel to a halt in the run-up to the withdrawals planned for August, the first from settlements on land they see as a biblical birthright and Palestinians want for a state.
Police arrested dozens of protesters at key road junctions as Israelis headed home from work. Some protesters blocked roads with burning tyres. Teenage girls darted into the traffic and lay down in front of cars.—Reuters