Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon (C) and his two deputies Ehud Olmert (L) and Shimon Peres vote, July 20, 2005 at the Knesset (Israeli parliament) against the request by right-wing MPs to postpone next month's scheduled pullout of troops and settlers from the Gaza Strip.  (Xinhua/AFP photo)

(Xinhua/AFP photo)

    JERUSALEM, July 20 (Xinhuanet) -- The Israeli Knesset (parliament)on Wednesday overwhelmingly rejected right-wing lawmakers' demands for a lengthy delay on planned pullout from the Gaza Strip and part of West Bank.

    The proposal was nixed by a margin of 69-41, with two members ofthe Knesset abstained from voting.

    Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Education Minister LimorLivnat were not present during the voting.

    The bill marks the right-wing lawmakers' last opportunity tostop the Gaza Strip withdrawal through political means.

    Since it fell, it cannot be raised again for six months. However, some 10,000 protesters still remained in the village of Kfar Maimon in southern Israel through Wednesday morning to protest against the pullout.

    Israel Radio reported that leaders of the anti-pullout protest may announce later Wednesday that the protesters will end the planned march and return to their homes.

    Yesha Council, organizer of the protest, said Wednesday morning that the bulk of the demonstrators would leave the area before Friday evening and only a "nucleus" of a few hundred demonstrators would remain as a "forward base" of protest activities.

    But many protestors at the Kfar Maimon camp site vowed that they would still go through with the march toward the Gaza Strip settlement bloc of Gush Katif Wednesday night. Enditem