Calls for Gaza referendum
2004-09-13 14:11
Jerusalem - Israel's powerful finance minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Monday for a national referendum on Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's controversial plan to pull troops and settlers out of the Gaza Strip.
"I hope that a nationwide referendum can be organised as quickly as possible to find out whether Israelis do or do not support the government's decision," he told reporters.
"The results of this referendum will clearly indicate whether this decision is legitimate and it will allow a reductions in tensions and divisions at the heart of Israel," added the former premier who is seen as Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's chief rival within the main governing Likud party.
His call for a referendum comes a day after tens of thousands of Israelis held a protest in the centre of Jerusalem against the proposed evacuation of all 8 000 Gaza settlers next year as well as the residents of four Jewish enclaves in the northern West Bank.
- AFP