A rally in memory of Yitzhak Rabin eight years after his murder turned into the largest leftwing demonstration since Ariel Sharon came to power as more than 100,000 people at the weekend gathered under banners denouncing occupation and demanding peace.

Although the organisers had said that Saturday night's memorial was intended to be non-partisan, many of those who descended on the Tel Aviv square where the former prime minister was assassinated carried banners demanding: "Leave the [occupied] territories - save the country", and "Sharon go home".

A crowd of Israelis attend a memorial ceremony marking the eighth anniversary of the assassination of former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in Tel Aviv, November 1, 2003. Tens of thousands of Israelis gathered Saturday night to mark the anniversary of the assassination, showing their continued support for the stalled peace process. REUTERS/ Nir Elias

Shimon Peres, the former prime minister and architect of the Oslo peace accords with Mr Rabin, added to the political tone by telling the crowd that the present Israeli government's emphasis on force over negotiation had failed, and that the country would return to Mr Rabin's vision.

"Yitzhak was right, and his path just," he said. "His views today are clear and enduring. There will be no retreat; we will continue."

The organisers were surprised at the turnout - the biggest since the first anniversary of the assassination - and attributed it in part to a growing realisation among Israelis that Mr Sharon's policies had brought more violence, not peace.

This realisation was reinforced in recent days by a warning from the Israeli army chief of staff that the government's treatment of Palestinian civilians was "strengthening terror organisations".

The crowd was also bolstered by widespread revulsion at the desecration of the memorial to Mr Rabin, which was daubed with swastikas the day before the rally.

Mr Rabin was murdered by Yigal Amir, an extremist Jew who was opposed to surrendering any part of the West Bank to the Palestinians.

The vandalism came after the arrest of a man who was shown on television stopping at the memorial and spitting on it three times.

In a further reminder of the hatred for Mr Rabin and his colleagues, who are routinely denounced by Israeli rightwingers as the "Oslo criminals", Mr Peres spoke behind bulletproof glass.

He derided Mr Sharon for pinning his entire policy "on one leg - the leg of security".

"Without a clear decision, the Zionist enterprise will stand in mortal danger," he said. "Even the right has started to understand that it's better to have two states which will have to live in peace, than one state where two peoples fight for ever over every piece of land, every drop of water."

Mr Peres called on the government to pull Jewish settlers out of the Gaza strip immediately, and questioned what Israel gained from them being there. He also praised the new Palestinian prime minister, Ahmed Qureia. "He believes terrorism must be stopped for the good of the Palestinians, that peace must be achieved and compromises made," he said. "He is a man of deeds, someone with whom it is possible to hold serious dialogue."

The size of the rally and its tone encouraged some on the left to believe that Israel's marginalised and dormant peace camp was finally showing flickers of life.

It came after the government's furious reaction to a dialogue known as the Geneva initiative, led by a former Oslo accord negotiator, Yossi Beilin, and Yasser Abd Rabbo, a close ally of the Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat.

The government's attempts to portray the talks as akin to treason have delighted the peace camp, which sees it as evidence of Mr Sharon's vulnerability over his failure to deliver the peace with security that he promised.

The comments last week by the army chief of staff, Moshe Ya'alon, criticising the harsh treatment of Palestinian civilians as counterproductive and fuelling terrorism, have drawn support from former members of the security establishment and further divided Mr Sharon's cabinet.

The second largest party in the coalition, Shinui, at the weekend presented its own peace plan, which was seized on as evidence that pressure is growing on the prime minister to take negotiations seriously.

Mr Rabin's daughter, Dalia Rabin-Pelosoff, a former deputy defence minister, denounced the hatred responsible for the murder of her father, which she said is still tearing at Israeli society.

© Guardian Newspapers Limited 2003

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