Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Wednesday a mass protest in the Gush Katif settlement bloc in the Gaza Strip against the proposed pullout showed how painful the step is for Israel, Israel Radio reported.

Olmert, a staunch supporter for the Sharon plan, said Wednesday that he was "very happy" that tens of thousands of Israelis attended Tuesday's mass protest. With four days to go to Sunday's Likud referendum on the disengagement plan, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's associates increasingly fear the plan will not be passed. There have been fears that the momentum generated by some 60,000 demonstrators who took part in the Independence Day protest would sap vital support for the Sharon plan in the Sunday vote.

Sharon floated his unilateral plan early this year, proposing to evacuate most of the Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip but keep populous ones on the West Bank. 

Source: Xinhua