Sharon 'will not resign'

2004-05-03 09:14

Jerusalem - Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said he won't resign despite the humiliating rejection of his Gaza withdrawal plan, and his allies suggested the veteran tactician will look for ways to override the veto of his Likud Party.

However, the Likud's resounding "no" in Sunday voting means Sharon's plan of "unilateral disengagement" from the Palestinians will be put on hold for now.

They rejected his plan with 59.5% voting against the scheme in a party referendum, according to official results announced on public radio on Monday.

Just 39.7% of the 96 700 Likud members who voted backed the scheme. Turnout was about 40% of the party.

The disengagement plan envisions an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, home to 7 500, and the evacuation of four small West Bank settlements by the end of 2005, along with the completion of a West Bank separation barrier.

Palestinian leaders, who have dismissed Sharon's unilateral plan as an attempt to tighten Israel's hold over large parts of the West Bank, played down on Sunday's vote as an internal Israeli matter.

Israeli opponents of Sharon's plan have said he was surrendering to Palestinian violence. For decades, Sharon was the foremost champion of settlement expansion and led a hawkish line in Likud.

Too far right

Sharon's allies in the party warned that the Likud was becoming increasingly less appealing to moderate Israeli voters and could get hurt in the next election. A majority of Israelis support the withdrawal plan, and Sunday's "no" vote could brand Likud as being too far to the right of the mainstream.

"This is not good for the country and a terrible day for the party," said Absorption Minister Tzipi Livni, a Sharon ally.

Vice Premier Ehud Olmert said disengagement is inevitable and that Sharon is determined to move forward, though he stopped short of saying how Sharon would override the party's decision. "There is no way to stop this process," Olmert said.

Opponents celebrated their victory. Likud members chose "a no-compromise fight against terrorism" over "loyalty to the prime minister," said Cabinet minister Natan Sharansky.

'Respect' the outcome

The low voter turnout might help Sharon undermine the legitimacy of the result, analysts said. Sharon said in a statement on Sunday that he will "respect" the outcome of the vote, but suggested he would not drop the plan.

Sharon requires Cabinet approval to move ahead with the plan.

The vote might also strain Sharon's relations with US President George W Bush. Last month, the president went out of his way to help Sharon, endorsing the disengagement plan and giving the Israeli leader unprecedented assurances that in a final peace deal, Israel would not have to withdraw from all of the West Bank.

Palestinian Cabinet minister Saeb Erekat demanded on Sunday that Bush withdraw his guarantees. "We call on President Bush to declare that the letter of assurance he gave to Sharon is off the table," Erekat said.

- AP