"I am presenting myself as a volunteer to replace any soldier who refuses to obey their orders," said the anti-settlement watchdog's petition which was published in the leading liberal daily Haaretz.

"To the chief of staff: we are putting ourselves at the disposal of the army and security services to help implement the decision of the goverment to withdraw from the Gaza Strip and northern West Bank."

The petition is a response to a campaign by ultra-nationalist opponents of next year's pullout to gather signatures calling on soldiers to refuse orders to evacuate the 21 Gaza settlements and four small Jewish enclaves in the northern West Bank.

Noam Livnat, brother of Education Minister Limor Livnat and one of the driving forces behind the refusal campaign, has said he expects about 10,000 soldiers will sign the petition.

"We will bring the petition with 10,000 names. We think it will be impractical (for the military police) to fish out two or three or 50 or even 500 from among them," he told army radio on Wednesday.

The head of the Israeli army's ground forces, General Yiftah Ron Tal, has already denounced the refusal campaign.

"In a democratic state it is possible and correct to protest. Protest is a legitimate tool," he said.

"But to incite (soldiers) to mutiny and truly to establish a body which calls on soldiers to refuse to obey an order -- that is a seditious body."

The Israeli parliament has overwhelmingly voted for Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's so-called disengagement plan but settlers and their supporters have vowed no let-up in their campaign against what they regard as the forcible transfer of Jews.

Settler leaders have threatened to besiege parliament and mount a campaign of civil disobedience while some Gaza residents have taken to wearing orange Stars of David, in a reference to the Jews who were forced to wear yellow stars during the Holocaust.