By Jerusalem Newswire Editorial Staff
May 24, 2004
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s plan to uproot Jewish residents from their biblical patrimony in the Gaza Strip and northern Samaria will fail to garner majority government support, if two of his top ministers have anything to say about it.
Finance Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom plan to block Sharon’s revised “disengagement” plan from passing next week’s cabinet vote in its entirety.
Both have said they would support a limited withdrawal from three isolated Gaza settlements, but no more.
Last month, Netanyahu and Shalom grudgingly supported the plan, but swapped sides after the notion of retreating from Gaza was overwhelmingly rejected by Likud Party voters in a May 2 referendum.
Sharon met with senior IDF officers Sunday to discuss the best way to implement the withdrawal, but was clear he was not interested in their opinions on the plan’s viability.
‘Revised’ retreat plan
Following the May 2 defeat of his “disengagement” plan in an internal Likud referendum, Sharon this week launched an effort to gain government approval for a “revised” version of his project to rid the Gaza Strip and northern Samaria of their Jews.
According to media reports, the “new” plan is identical to its predecessor, except for being divided into four phases, each of which would require cabinet approval prior to being implemented.
In the first phase, the isolated Gaza settlements of Netzarim, Morag and Kfar Darom would be evacuated.
Several months later, Israel would remove the Jewish residents of several northern Samaria communities.
Next to go would be the Katif Bloc of Jewish communities in southern Gaza, followed by the northern Gaza settlements.
Sharon intends to bring the entire plan before the cabinet for general approval next Sunday.
Ignoring military counsel
On Monday, Sharon met with senior IDF officers to discuss how to best implement each phase of his pullout plan.
General Amos Gilad voiced the opinion of several others present when he told the prime minister that while the original plan was bad, the revised version is even worse.
Unilateral withdrawal will be perceived by the Arabs as a prize for terrorism, but carrying out the retreat in separate phases will encourage massive terrorist attacks prior to the cabinet vote on each segment, Gilad pointed out.
But Sharon was having none of it, and told his military advisors he was not interested in what they thought about the plan.
"I didn't come here to hear whether the plan is good or not, and it's not your job to tell me. All I want is for you to prepare plans as to how it can be carried out safely - not under terrorist fire, and without increasing terrorism,” Arutz 7 quoted Sharon as saying.
It was their inability to flee Gaza without increasing terrorism that Gilad and the other generals were apparently trying to get across to the Israeli leader.
“The withdrawal will be carried out in any event,” Sharon insisted.
Withdrawal spoilers
But Sharon may meet with insurmountable opposition if he persists in pushing a full withdrawal from Gaza and northern Samaria when brings the plan before his cabinet next Sunday.
Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom recently told members of his party he would not disregard the outcome of the May 2 Likud referendum by supporting Sharon’s retreat plan.
Finance Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s aides said he would not vote in favor of any plan that includes the removal of more than the three isolated Gaza settlements.
The position of these two top ministers is expected to sway the votes of several other cabinet members, making approval for Sharon’s full plan less than a foregone conclusion.