Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon accused far-rightists on Sunday of trying to incite civil war over his plan to withdraw from the occupied Gaza Strip and called for measures to curb such groups.
Settler leaders themselves warned last week that quitting Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip and a fragment of the West Bank could spark civil war, though polls show the plan is backed by most Israelis.
Hard-liners have urged security forces to disobey orders to remove settlements from land that Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war, under the plan designed for "disengagement" from years of conflict with the Palestinians. Sharon said at Sunday's cabinet meeting that the calls from far-rightists were: "in essence aimed at inciting civil war."
"I call upon those of you in charge of security matters, to take all necessary steps," he said.
One option was so-called "administrative detention" - or detention without trial - which has been used against hundreds of Palestinians arrested during a four-year-old uprising, Justice Minister Yosef Lapid said.
"I hope we will not have to use it against settlers or against religious leaders. But we are reserving our right to do so if necessary," Lapid told reporters.
The prime minister, who once championed the settlements and still wants to keep the main West Bank settlement blocs, also took a swipe at some ministers from his own right-wing Likud party for not being supportive enough.
Sharon's inner cabinet is expected to discuss a law for carrying out the withdrawal plan later this week.
Settler supporters, including many Likud leaders, oppose giving up land they see as a biblical heritage and say Sharon's plan would also "reward Palestinian terror".
"Sharon is behaving like a dictator, he stomps on his citizens and then blames them for the situation," said Yehoshua Mor-Yosef, spokesman for the Yesha settlers' group.
"If this situation continues, that Sharon quashes democracy and continues with the disengagement, there is a danger of deteriorating to a situation where there will be a serious rift among the people."
Pro-settler groups plan to bring tens of thousands of people to a peaceful protest against the pullout in Jerusalem later on Sunday.
SETTLERS HOLD MASS PROTEST: Thousands of Israeli settlers and their supporters were gathering in the centre of Jerusalem Sunday to protest against Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's plan to withdraw from the Gaza Strip.
After holding a mass prayer session at the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City, the holiest site in Judaism, the crowds began descending on the landmark Zion Square where a number of speakers were set to address the crowds.
More than 1,000 police were on hand after the country's top policeman warned the protestors not to incite violence against the government's so-called disengagement plan.
Speakers were expected to deliver their own version of the 10 Commandments, including a message that police and soldiers must not use violence to evacuate anyone from Gaza and four Jewish enclaves in the northern West Bank when settlements are emptied next year.
A stage had been set up in Zion Square against the backdrop of a massive banner that read: "Disengagement is tearing the people apart".
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