Wednesday, Oct 27, 2004
Wednesday, Oct 27, 2004 |
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JERUSALEM, OCT. 26. In a historic session, Israel's Parliament today approved Ariel Sharon's Gaza withdrawal plan, but four key Cabinet Ministers immediately threatened to resign if Mr. Sharon did not heed calls for a national referendum on the plan. The vote marked the first time that the Parliament authorised the removal of Jewish settlements from lands that the Palestinians claim for a state. Despite last-minute attempts by opponents to derail the vote, Mr. Sharon won by a comfortable margin of 67 in favour, 45 against and seven abstentions. The Parliament has 120 members, but one legislator was absent. Mr. Sharon has hoped that a strong victory would help him deflect pressure to hold a national referendum. Mr. Sharon won today with the help of dovish opposition parties. Many members of his center-right coalition, as well as religious opposition parties, voted against him. Before the vote, the pro-settler National Religious Party, a key part of Mr. Sharon's coalition, announced it would quit within 14 days if Mr. Sharon did not pledge to hold a national poll on the plan in the coming months. Minutes after the vote, four influential Ministers from Sharon's Likud Party — Benjamin Netanyahu, Limor Livnat, Yisrael Katz and Danny Naveh — demanded that the Premier accept the ultimatum or they would quit as well. The announcement puts added pressure on Mr. Sharon to hold the poll, but it was unclear how much of a threat it posed to his Government. Mr. Sharon has dismissed calls by settlers and their supporters for a referendum as a delaying tactic. The resignation threat could push Sharon into a new governing coalition with moderate and dovish parties. "I believe that the Prime Minister will go for a referendum and we can all do the right thing, if not, we have to say enough, is enough," Mr. Livnat said. Mr. Sharon entered Parliament , surrounded by 16 bodyguards which is an unprecedented number. Police cordoned off the building, restricting entry, as thousands of settlers gathered at a nearby park to protest. Protection for Mr. Sharon has been beefed up in recent weeks amid growing concern that he could by attacked by right-wing extremists. The withdrawal plan has bitterly divided the nation, and solidified Mr. Sharon's transformation from a long-time patron of the Jewish settlers to their nemesis. In other developments, a weakened Yasser Arafat broke his Ramadan fast at the urging of his doctors today and was undergoing more medical tests, aides said. Palestinian hospital officials said that an X-ray and ultrasound revealed that Mr. Arafat had a large gallstone. Mr. Arafat's aides have insisted that he is recovering from the flu. But Israeli officials speculated that the Palestinian leader was suffering from a serious illness. Teams of Egyptian and Tunisian doctors have examined him in recent days. In southern Gaza, Israeli troops withdrew from the Khan Younis refugee camp, ending a two-day operation aimed at halting Palestinian mortar fire. Seventeen Palestinians were killed by Army fire. — AP
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