Although Mr Netanyahu, who is a likely challenger to Mr Sharon for the leadership of the Likud party, had indicated he would abstain, some of Mr Sharon's aides had reportedly threatened him with dismissal if he did not vote against the delay proposal. After the Knesset had rejected by decisive margins three bills to postpone the disengagement plan, Ariel Sharon, the Israeli Prime Minister, said: "I was happy with the results In today's vote, I saw a real expression of democracy. It proved that the government, the Knesset and the public support the disengagement." The Finance Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who was joined by the Education Minister, Limor Livnat, in a pointed abstention from yesterday's votes, appeared to have angered both his government colleagues by not voting against them and the settlers' leaders by not supporting them. As night fell, thousands of protesters amassed with their rucksacks packed but showed no sign of breaking through the perimeter of Kfar Maimon, heavily guarded by police backed up by troops. Settlers had earlier threatened to resume the march before sundown, and extra troops and police had been moved to the gates of Kfar Maimon to prevent any outbreak of violence. The largely good-humoured stand-off between demonstrators and police continued into the night with upwards of 10,000 protesters likely to spend a third night in the village Organisers had hoped they would reach Gaza by last night. While settlers continued with plans to resume their banned march towards the Gush Katif Gaza settlement block, Israel's police commissioner, Moshe Karadi, predicted an imminent end to the protest and said he hoped it would happen "with limited confrontation".
Mr Karadi told the many thousands of police and troops who have encircled the demonstrators camped in this small farming community that "both sides understand that violence is out of the boundaries". The mass protest against evacuating Jewish settlers from Gaza was in danger of missing its moment when the Knesset, Israel's parliament, threw out calls by right-wingers to postpone the operation for three months. Its chairman, Mazan Younis, helped the family bring a High Court civil case through the Birmingham solicitors, Public Interest Lawyers.Ahmed's father said: "I was distraught about the events that led to my son's death. As a parent my feelings are deeply hurt and I am suffering great sadness.
Trying to discover how my son died and pressing for an investigation has left me exhausted.". Mrs Kareem recalled: "The next few days were so bad, so terrible I used to go beside the river and wait. I knew by then that my son had gone, but I thought maybe the body would be found."Ahmed was buried in the holy city of Najaf. British investigators wanted to exhume the body but the family insisted that it should not be disturbed during the 40 days of mourning. After that time, the body was taken to the American hospital in Najaf for a post-mortem examination Ahmed's family are angry that they were not informed. The Army says that it acted in the interest of justice."Why did they force him into the water?" asked Mrs Kareem.
