By Jerusalem Newswire Editorial Staff
May 30, 2004
Repeating the mantra that the Israeli public supports retreat in the war against “Palestinian” terror, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon Sunday warned his cabinet ministers that failure to support his “disengagement” plan could cost them their jobs.
Sharon said he was determined to uproot the Jewish communities of the Gaza Strip and northern Samaria, even if he had to fire many of his current ministers and fill his cabinet with those who saw things his way.
Finance Minister Binyamin Netanyahu responded by reminding the Sunday cabinet meeting that no one had a “monopoly on the best interests of the nation.”
Sharon went into the meeting one body shy of having majority support, after several key Likud ministers decided they would vote against disengagement after the party’s membership voted the plan down in a May 2 referendum.
But Sharon promptly labeled the referendum a mistake, setting the stage for him to disregard its outcome. Prior to the referendum, Sharon vowed he and his government would be bound by its results.
The seven-hour cabinet meeting ended without the issue being resolved.
What the nation wants?
Sharon began Sunday’s volatile cabinet meeting by demanding his ministers “show leadership” by falling in line with his intention to uproot Jewish residents from their homes in Gaza and northern Samaria.
Though Likud voters rejected his disengagement plan earlier this month, Sharon insisted retreating from Gaza in the face of ongoing “Palestinian” terrorism was what the vast majority of Israelis wanted.
"We are the government of the entire nation and must act according to what the majority wants,” he said.
But Sharon’s landslide victory in the 2002 national elections was also seen as an overwhelming public rejection of Labor Party chief Amram Mitzna’s election platform, which centered on unilateral withdrawal.
Sharon said the Likud referendum had been a mistake, sending up red flags for Likud supporters, and signaling the prime minister’s readiness to scrap the results of that vote and the wishes of his party.
Prior to the referendum, Sharon pledged he and his government would be bound by its outcome.
‘Unprecedented steps’
Fully set in his determination to push forward with the evacuation scheme, Sharon warned his cabinet ministers that failure to get on board could cost them their jobs.
"I am determined to pass this plan, even if I am forced to change the make-up of the government or to take unprecedented political steps," Sharon was quoted as saying.
Sharon said the debate would continue at next week’s meeting, after which a vote would be held on the plan.
War of words
The primary source of tension at Sunday’s meeting emanated from a war of words between Sharon and Finance Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.
While he had declined to offer his support for full flight from Gaza, Netanyahu had until Sunday held his peace in the face of scathing verbal attacks from the prime minister’s bureau.
But the two men’s differences appeared to come to a head at the meeting.
Netanyahu reminded the gathered ministers that no one in the room, including Sharon, had a “monopoly on the best interests of the nation.”
He urged Sharon to honor the results of the Likud referendum.
“You committed yourself to accepting the referendum results and you cannot go back on your word,” Ma’ariv quoted Netanyahu as saying.
Sharon accused Netanyahu of withdrawing his support for the disengagement plan based on personal political considerations – namely, his desire to regain the prime minister’s chair.
The finance minister had only offered grudging support for the plan. But even that he retracted following the Likud referendum, saying he would not support a policy that the party and its constituents rejected.
As the meeting drew to a close, Justice Minister and Shinui Party chief Yosef Lapid offered his services as mediator between Sharon and Netanyahu – for the sake of government unity, as he put it.
Lapid is a staunch supporter of unilateral retreat.