JERUSALEM [MENL] -- The government of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, in an attempt to prevent massive resistance, has ordered the military to prepare for an early withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.
Officials said Sharon has ordered Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz to prepare the military for an operation that would rapidly remove most of the estimated 10,000 people from the Gaza Strip within days. They said the plans were meant to foil efforts by withdrawal opponents to join residents in resisting their evacuation.
The government has set an Aug. 17 deadline for the start of the withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and northern West Bank. But officials said Sharon and his senior aides have been alarmed by the capability of withdrawal opponents to recruit tens of thousands of people to stop the military operation.

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