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Peace Process

Sharon seeks approval for full retreat


By Jerusalem Newswire Editorial Staff
May 27, 2004

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon Friday again shifted course, deciding to go for an all-or-nothing cabinet vote Sunday on the entire plan to uproot the Jewish residents of the Gaza Strip and northern Samaria.

The decision was reportedly made after it became apparent Sharon might not have a cabinet majority for even the first phase of his pullout plan, which would see the removal of three “isolated” Gaza settlements.

Instead, it appeared the prime minister had resorted to threats in order to garner the one vote needed to push through his plan, after sources close to Sharon indicated he may sack Finance Minister Binyamin Netanyahu if the influential former premier voted against “disengagement.”

Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom withdrew their grudging support for the plan after it was roundly defeated in a May 2 Likud referendum.

Both men said they would not join Sharon in disregarding the wishes of their own party.

Cabinet ministers were to receive a copy of Sharon’s plan Friday in order to review its main points ahead of Sunday’s vote.

If the plan were approved, its four phases would still be subjected to future cabinet votes prior to their implementation.

The plan’s approval, however, could lead to the breakup of Sharon’s coalition, after right-wing parties threatened to bolt the government rather than take part in the uprooting of Jews from their biblical homeland.

The leftist Labor Party has offered to provide Sharon with a safety net in the Knesset, but has indicated it would not join a national unity coalition.

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