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"My opinion [about the disengagement] won't change anything. I understand the people that live here," she said, empathizing with their pain at the prospect of being moved out.

"I think it [the disengagement] will happen in the end," she said. "But maybe they [the settlers] will succeed in staying. There are always miracles."

'Bush, leave us alone!'

Many people attending this week's rallies wore orange-colored clothing, orange being the "anti-disengagement" color.

At Homesh, the crowds seemed to enjoy the day, snacking on Popsicles or picnicking under trees.There were activities for children and for older people, a short, steep hike up a mountain offered a commanding view of the entire region. At the highest point, a guide explained the view.

Although the surrounding hills are dotted with Arab villages, the guide pointed to one direction after another, naming biblical places -- Mount Tabor, Elon Moreh, the mountains of Nazareth -- the Biblical Judea and Samaria, all of which religious Jews believe the Bible promised to them as an eternal inheritance.

Smadar came with her 16-year-old daughter and her father from Rosh HaAyin -- not far away, but within Israel proper. She said she had never visited Homesh, a settlement that was established in 1978.

"I came to identify with them," Smadar said. "I don't want to think about [the possibility of disengagement]."

"It hurts me that they want to throw them out of their houses. If they decided tomorrow my house belongs to them [the Arabs] they'll want to throw me out?" she asked. "It's our land... It's courageous where they [the settlers] live. It's scary [here]. They are guarding the State of Israel with their bodies." She said the government cannot give up the land.

"It's forbidden to say 'return the Land.' It was never theirs," said Michal from Haifa. The places from which the Arabs fled during Israel's war of Independence in 1948 are within the State of Israel, she said. Israel didn't take this land from anyone to build the settlements, she added. "It's promised to us in the book of Genesis."

"I came to demonstrate my belief that this is our country," said Yonit from Haifa. "You tell President Bush not to interfere in our country. The Arabs have 22 countries of their own and [they don't need] to develop another country here," she said.

Many Israelis believe that it was pressure from the U.S. that forced Sharon to come up with the disengagement plan -- a charge that Israeli leaders vehemently deny.

"There is no room to split this country in two. I don't understand how a smart president doesn't understand they [the Arabs] just want to destroy us," Yonit said.

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