Jerusalem ? A gay rights group in Jerusalem has delayed an international festival scheduled for August, citing Israel’s planned withdrawal from the Gaza Strip at the same time, organizers said.

Muslim, Jewish and Christian religious groups had vehemently opposed holding the gay event in Jerusalem. But Noa Sattath, head of the Jerusalem Open House, a gay advocacy group, said the postponement was not related to religious opposition.

“The religious pressure only gives us more motivation,” Sattath said. “But the message is supposed to be of tolerance, pluralism and equality and that can’t be done in August this year alongside disengagement.”

WorldPride 2005, a 10-day gathering that includes street parties, workshops and a gay film festival, was rescheduled for August 2006.

The “disengagement” plan to withdraw from all Gaza Strip and four West Bank settlements was initially supposed to begin in July. But last week, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon postponed the pullout until Aug. 15 because of a three-week Jewish mourning period commemorating the destruction of the biblical temples.

Holding the gay festivities during the pullout – which is expected to meet fierce resistance from Jewish settlers and their supporters – would do injustice to the values of the WorldPride festivities, Sattath said.

“We have taken this decision out of consideration to the most difficult political climate expected in Israel this August.