Israeli parliament to vote on Gaza pullout
Opponents of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s plan for a pullout from the Gaza Strip and part of the West Bank made last-ditch efforts today to rally support for a vote that could halt the withdrawal.
The Israeli parliament was set to vote today on calling a national referendum over the withdrawal plan, a ploy Sharon says is intended to delay or scuttle the evacuation.
The vote today could be close, with parties manoeuvring for position until the last minute, but it appeared Sharon had a majority against a referendum.
Also today, the military lifted a ban on Palestinians from entering Israel, imposed last Wednesday for the Jewish holiday of Purim. Such closures are routine security measures.
Uzi Landau, the leader of a group of rebels within Sharon’s own Likud Party, was meeting today with the spiritual leader of the ultra-Orthodox Shas Party in a bid to get the rabbi, Ovadia Yosef, to throw the 11 party votes behind the referendum.
Yosef, who also opposes the Gaza withdrawal, has in the past ruled against the referendum for fear it would open the ultra-Orthodox to plebiscites on issues sensitive to their community. But Landau and Shas leaders hoped the chance to bring down the Sharon government would get the rabbi to change his mind.
Landau also called on Sharon loyalists in the Likud to rethink their vote. “I have expectations from my comrades in the party. Those who want to be loyal to the interests of Israel and the decisions of the Likud ... have to vote in favour of a referendum,” he told Israel Army Radio.
Opponents of the summer withdrawal hope they could defeat it in a referendum, especially if they could impose conditions like an absolute majority of voters. The Cabinet and parliament have already approved Sharon’s pullout plan.
The proposed dismantling of all 21 Gaza settlements and four in the West Bank has splintered Sharon’s Likud Party, a bastion of settlement backers taken by surprise by Sharon’s sudden turnabout at the beginning of last year. Sharon himself was the main sponsor of settlement construction before presenting his pullout plan, explaining it would help Israel hang on to parts of the West Bank.
That issue remained in the spotlight yesterday. Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas criticised Israel and indirectly the US over a restatement of US support for Israel’s retaining main settlements in the West Bank in a final peace deal.
“Any talk of settlements that is not a discussion of stopping them is unacceptable,” Abbas said. “Here I’m talking about the discussions of annexing settlement blocs.” The Palestinians claim all of the West Bank, with east Jerusalem as their future capital.
The issue resurfaced over the weekend with a leaked Foreign Ministry document that quoted US Ambassador Dan Kurtzer as saying the US did not support Israel’s keeping West Bank settlements. The document was leaked after Israel revived plans to expand the largest one, Maaleh Adumim, next to Jerusalem.
Kurtzer denied a newspaper report based on the document, repeating a statement from US President George Bush that a peace settlement would have to take into account Israel’s main ettlement blocs.
Sharon told his Cabinet that while Washington backed Israel’s holding on to settlement blocs, it still opposes construction in settlements.
The settlement issue has been a major sticking point in attempts to implement the stalled US-backed “road map” peace plan, which also has the support of the European Union, United Nations and Russia.
The initial stage requires Israel to halt all settlement construction and remove dozens of unauthorised outposts from the West Bank, while the Palestinians dismantle violent groups. Neither side has carried out those steps. With a truce holding for six weeks, there are hopes peace efforts can resume.
Instead of peace moves, however, the truce itself is teetering, with charges by Israeli Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz that Palestinians smuggled Strela anti-aircraft missiles into Gaza through tunnels under the Egyptian border.
If true, the missiles could change the strategic picture, threatening Israeli military helicopters flying over Gaza. According to participants in a Sunday Cabinet meeting, Mofaz said, “Last week several Strelas were smuggled in by Palestinian military intelligence. If the Palestinians (police) don’t get hold of the Strelas, we will.”
Israel has refrained from raids into Gaza since Sharon and Abbas declared a truce on February 8. Before that, Israeli forces went into Gaza several times a week, looking for militants and destroying tunnels.
Rejecting Mofaz’s warnings, Palestinian Information Minister Nabil Shaath charged that Israel is trying to sabotage the truce. “I hope this is not an indication of future Israeli acts of aggression against us,” Shaath said.
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