Tens of thousands of anti-disengagement protesters gathered in Jerusalem Sunday evening to protest against Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's plan to pull out of the Gaza Strip.

Organizers of the demonstration expressed hope to bring over 100,000 protesters opposite from the Knesset (parliament) and Sharon's office in Jerusalem.

The demonstration was expected to last for 24 hours, and no official figures on the number of people in attendance were released, the leading Ha'aretz daily said on its website.

Less than two hours before the demonstration was to begin, most of the protesters at the site were adolescents, who were wearing orange-colored clothes and carrying Hebrew and English signs saying "Let the people decide."

The slogan is a reference to the protestors' demand for a nationwide referendum on the disengagement issue, which they view as the only legitimate endorsement for the evacuation of settlements from the Gaza Strip and northern Samaria.

Police sources estimate that some 1,200 buses and hundreds of private vehicles would be involved in the protest.

Brigadier General Shimon Koren, deputy commander of the Jerusalem district, said police were ready to handle any illegal activities planned by radical right-wing activists.

Speaking to Israel Radio, Koren said police were prepared to handle any scenario, but refused to give details of such possible scenarios.

The deputy commander added that signs containing messages of incitement will be confiscated.

Under the disengagement plan, Israel would evacuate 8,000 Jewish settlers in all the 21 settlements from the Gaza Strip by 2005.

(Xinhua News Agency January 31, 2005)