Sharon 'will win cabinet approval for Gaza retreat'
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon plans to present his full Gaza withdrawal plan to his recalcitrant cabinet next week, and said today it will be approved.
The cabinet has been sharply divided over the plan, and Sharon appeared to be one vote short of getting it approved. In recent days, officials have worked to come up with a compromise plan to secure a cabinet majority.
Many ministers, even some in Sharon’s own Likud Party, oppose the plan, saying it is counterproductive to withdraw from Gaza amid ongoing violence.
Sharon has threatened to fire some hard-line ministers to ensure the plan’s approval, a move that could trigger a rebellion in Sharon’s Likud Party.
A senior government official said the crisis could lead to a general election in the next three to four months.
Opposition leader Shimon Peres said his Labour Party would vote in favour of any removal of settlements but would not join Sharon’s government.
After speaking to the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee today, Sharon said he would present his full plan for evacuating all 21 settlements in Gaza and four isolated settlements in the West Bank to the cabinet on Sunday and he was confident of its success.
“The plan will be passed on Sunday,” Sharon said.
However, the cabinet would only approve the staged withdrawal plan in principle, Sharon said. It would have to vote again before any part of the plan - including the evacuation of settlements – could be implemented, he said.
According to officials, that formulation would win a cabinet majority, but it was unclear whether the most hawkish parties in the coalition would remain.
Sharon told the Knesset committee the withdrawals would be completed by the end of next year.
In Washington, Sharon aide Dov Weisglass held talks with National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice to discuss Sharon’s determination to carry out the plan.
A White House official said the US endorses the Gaza pullout plan Sharon presented there in April.
