JERUSALEM [MENL] -- The government of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has been urged to advance the start of the withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and northern West Bank.

Officials said Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz has been mulling proposals from senior military commanders to advance the date of withdrawal, now set for Aug. 17. The examination began in wake of a government decision to close the Gaza Strip to non-resident Israelis.

Former Prime Minister Ehud Barak, who served as the military's chief of staff, has proposed that the withdrawal operation begin around Aug. 1, or more than two weeks ahead of schedule. Barak said Israeli authorities were confronting an increasingly violent resistance to the withdrawal.

"The evacuation will be carried out on its date," Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz said on Wednesday. "There's no reason to advance it."