JERUSALEM, 4 July 2005 — Israel’s Cabinet rejected yesterday a proposal to delay the start of a Gaza pullout for three months, setting the stage for a showdown between Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and his main political rival Benjamin Netanyahu. The attempt to force Sharon to postpone the withdrawal slated to begin in mid-August was a sharp reminder of the opposition he faces in his extreme right-wing Likud party to the plan he has championed and a sign of internal leadership battles ahead.
Fears that ultranationalist opponents of the move out of Gaza might attack Israeli leaders also surfaced at the prime minister’s office, where the Shin Bet security service fitted cabinet members for new bulletproof vests before they convened. It was not known if the bulky Sharon, who has quipped that no bulletproof vest fits him, was also measured for body armor.
Sharon aims to evacuate all 21 Jewish settlements in Gaza, which is home to 1.3 million Palestinians, and four of 120 in the West Bank. US-led mediators hope the disengagement will foster a “road map” peace process between Israel and Palestinians seeking statehood in occupied lands.
While opinion polls have shown most Israelis favor his plan, Sharon has been confronted with escalating protests by fringe ultranationalists, some of whom have threatened his life. Palestinians welcome any Israeli withdrawals from lands occupied in the 1967 Middle East War. However, they say they fear Sharon intends to leave Gaza mainly in order to cement Israel’s hold on much larger settlements in the West Bank.
At a stormy session, the Cabinet voted 18-3 against Likud Agriculture Minister Yisrael Katz’s proposed three-month delay. Netanyahu, a former prime minister who has long sought a political comeback, supported Katz, who said more time was needed to complete pullout preparations.
The Israeli Army, meanwhile, yesterday reopened the West Bank town of Jericho after sealing it off for several hours, and a Palestinian security official denied previous reports that shots had been fired at soldiers manning a nearby checkpoint.
“The Palestinians and Israelis have decided to end the closure and reopen Jericho,” said Kamal Qadumi, commander of the Palestinian national security forces in the town.
Speaking to AFP after a joint security meeting at which the decision was taken, Qadumi said there was no evidence of any shooting at the checkpoint. Earlier, a Palestinian security official had said the army closed off approach roads to the town after shots were fired at the main southern entrance checkpoint, apparently from a stolen Israeli car.
The army also said the town was briefly closed off after “shots were apparently fired toward soldiers at the district coordination office (DCO) checkpoint”.
