JERUSALEM, 28 May 2004 — Bowing to hard-line ministers opposed to his Gaza Strip pullout plan, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon agreed yesterday to a cut-down version that starts by removing just three of 21 settlements, officials said.
The changes mean a climb-down for Sharon, but would not be as humiliating as defeat in a Cabinet vote on the project set for Sunday — four weeks after the right-wing Likud party defeated his US-backed initiative in a referendum.
Since then, he has sought a way to push through some form of his plan to “disengage” from conflict with the Palestinians.
Pressure to act has grown during the bloodiest month in Gaza since Israel captured it in the 1967 Middle East war. At least 90 Palestinians and 18 Israelis have been killed while the Jewish state faced world outrage for the army’s action.
Senior officials said Sharon agreed to submit the reduced pullout plan after meetings with key Likud ministers, including his influential rival and Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, ahead of Sunday’s Cabinet vote.
It would mean evacuating just the three settlements of Morag, Rafiah Yam and Netzarim — particularly hard-to-defend outposts in the sandy territory where 7,500 Jews live alongside more than 1.3 million Palestinians.
“He’s a bit disappointed because he didn’t get approval for the whole plan, but he thinks he will in the future,” said one senior official. The original plan would also have meant uprooting four small West Bank settlements.
Some Likud ministers have said they cannot back the plan in any form because of its rejection by their party. Some members oppose ceding any land and say it would “reward terror”.
“A step like this can only reinforce terrorism,” said Likud Cabinet Minister Natan Sharansky.
If even the modified plan passes the Cabinet, it could mean Sharon has to form a new government since right-wing allies are ready to bolt his coalition. It would also need to win Parliament’s approval.
Most Israelis would like to evacuate Gaza and US President George W. Bush has also given the withdrawal plan his personal approval. Revisions to the plan will certainly be questioned in Washington.
Palestinians fear it is no more than a ruse by Sharon to strengthen Israel’s hold on large West Bank settlement blocs — covering an area bigger than the Gaza Strip and with many times more Jewish settlers.
Meanwhile, a far-right cabinet minister called for a population swap involving minority Arabs living in the Jewish state and Jewish settlers living in occupied territories.
It was the latest “transfer” proposal from ultra-nationalist Israelis opposed to Sharon’s plan for unilateral pullouts from Gaza and the West Bank.
Israel’s opposition left, Israeli Arabs and Palestinian Arabs have all branded such proposals as racist and illegal since they aim to excise much of a minority the right deems a threat and annex certain lands Palestinians want for a viable state.
Transport Minister Avigdor Lieberman, head of the National Union party in Sharon’s coalition, said he was ready to evacuate his West Bank settlement home to achieve his proposal.
