A group of influential settler rabbis ruled on 24 June that Israeli soldiers and police who evacuate settlers are violating Jewish law. 'Nobody has the right to take part in the evacuation of a settlement in Eretz Israel,' said the religious edict issued by the Committee of Rabbis of Judea & Samaria & the Gaza Strip. They also called for prayers to be held to protest the plan. The hardline group's edicts are not recognised by other rabbis.