Israel may move forward its mid-August withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, the country's deputy prime minister said Thursday.

Ehud Olmert said he would "favourably" consider moving up the date to avoid protests, after a three-day mass demonstration tied up about tens of thousands of security forces.

"This confrontation saps a great deal of energy, disrupts the lives of all of the country's residents, doesn't lead to any advantage. So I would definitely weigh (an earlier withdrawal) favourably," Olmert told Israel Radio.

Olmert did not say what the new pullout date would be.

However, another senior government official, on condition of anonymity, said they might discuss the timing with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who was due to arrive in the region Thursday.

Initially, the evacuation was set to begin mid-July, but it was moved to mid-August, because the earlier date clashed with a three-week Jewish mourning period, which begins Sunday.

However, critics charged that the withdrawal was delayed because the Israeli government was behind schedule in its preparations.

"Legally, there is no problem. But there are other problems -- logistic problems, coordination (with the Palestinians), evaluation of the situation to minimize friction, and Palestinian terror," the official said.

The standoff between pullout opponents and security forces began Monday after as many as 30,000 protesters converged on the southern Israeli farming village of Kfar Maimon, in the biggest protest so far over the pullout plans.

Their goal was to march into nearby Gaza, defying a government order prohibiting non-residents from entering.

But they gave up the protest overnight as tens of thousands of forces prevented them from departing on their march.

By late Thursday morning, police estimated that only about 200 to 300 protesters remained on site.

While the departure of the protesters appeared to be a setback for the settlement movement, settler leader Bentsi Lieberman said they were undeterred and that they would infiltrate Gaza "little by little."

Settler leader Pinchas Wallerstein agreed that the battle was far from over.

"(The) battle will continue in one format or another," Wallerstein told Israel Radio.

"We won't stop for a minute trying to get into Gush Katif."

In recent days, opponents to the withdrawal have been quietly smuggled into the Gaza settlement bloc in the middle of the night.

While protesters claim hundreds have entered Gaza, Police Commissioner Moshe Karadi estimated the number to be dozens.

On Wednesday, the Israeli parliament rejected proposals that would have delayed the evacuation of all 21 settlements in Gaza.