Israel's Supreme Court ruled Thursday that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's Gaza withdrawal plan is constitutional, removing the last legal obstacle to this summer's watershed pullout.

Also Thursday, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas was meeting militant groups in Gaza in an effort to resolve domestic political disputes and keep a shaky truce with Israel alive. Israel and the Palestinians are trying to keep the truce intact to allow them to coordinate the Gaza pullout, scheduled to begin in mid-August.

The 11-judge Supreme Court bench rejected 12 petitions by opponents of the withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and four West Bank settlements, ruling the pullout does not violate the settlers' human rights.

In their 320-page ruling, the judges upheld four technical challenges dealing with financial compensation for settlers to be evicted, but stressed that the withdrawal itself is constitutional. One judge dissented, arguing that a law governing the pullout is unsound and should be repealed.

Yoram Sheftel, an attorney for the settlers, said his expectations were low because the Supreme Court has a tendency of backing the government against Jewish settlers.

Israeli Justice Minister Tzipi Livni praised the court's decision, and expressed hope the ruling would defuse potentially violent settler resistance to the evacuation.

"I hope this ruling makes it absolutely clear to the individual settler that the plan is going ahead," Livni told Army Radio.

The ruling comes as opinion polls show that the public's support for the plan -- which was initially around 70 percent -- is dropping. Recent polls show support for the plan at around 50 percent.

Israel and the Palestinians have agreed to co-ordinate the Gaza pullout to prevent violence or chaos during the operation. But the two sides have made little concrete progress.

A new round of violence -- concentrated mostly in the Gaza Strip -- has increased Israeli fears that the ceasefire could collapse and militants will fire on settlers and security forces during the evacuation.

Meanwhile, Abbas met leaders of militant groups and political factions in the occupied Gaza Strip Thursday to salvage a truce with Israel that has been hit by a flare-up of violence.

Abbas was expected to urge militants to renew their commitment to the truce in talks with leaders of 14 Palestinian factions, but also faces complaints by factions that his own ruling Fatah party is not serious about political reforms.

(China Daily June 10, 2005)