Vote rejection clears way for Gaza pull-out
Opponents of the withdrawal had latched onto the vote as a last-ditch opportunity to delay and ultimately scuttle the withdrawal, set for the summer. The defeat yesterday left withdrawal opponents with few remaining options.
Approval of a referendum could have brought down Mr Sharon's government and forced new elections.
Mr Sharon's main coalition partner, the moderate Labour Party, had warned it would quit the coalition if a referendum were approved. Labour is a staunch supporter of the Gaza withdrawal.
In other developments yesterday, Israeli troops arrested eight supporters of the militant Islamic Jihad group in the West Bank on suspicion they were trying to build rockets. One soldier was hurt by an explosive device during the raid in the town of Jenin.
In the Gaza Strip, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas held talks with leaders of Islamic Jihad on the terms of the participation of militant groups in the PLO. Such participation was agreed upon in principle in a meeting between Mr Abbas and opposition factions earlier this month in Cairo.
The negotiations were not expected to produce results before July parliamentary elections, the first real measure of popular support for the militants.
Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia, meanwhile, sharply criticised the United States after US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice reiterated support for Israel's plans to keep large Jewish settlement blocs in the West Bank. "This (US) policy is completely incomprehensible," Mr Qureia said yesterday.
Israeli officials last week confirmed plans to build 3,500 homes in the Maaleh Adumim settlement, the West Bank's largest, near Jerusalem.
With the expansion and a construction of its separation barrier, Israel is effectively cutting off east Jerusalem, the Palestinians' intended capital, from a future state in the West Bank.
US officials said over the weekend that while they opposed continued construction in settlements, the demographic realities created by the settlement could not be ignored in a final peace deal.
"The American view is that while we will not prejudice the outcome of final status negotiations, the changes on the ground, the existing major Israeli population centres, will have to be taken into account in any final status negotiations," Ms Rice said.
The fate of Jerusalem and the Jewish settlements is to be negotiated in talks on a final peace deal. The Palestinians have complained that in signalling support for the annexation of some settlements by Israel, the US is pre-empting the outcome of negotiations.
"The US administration is giving us signs that it supports the Israeli aggression," Mr Qureia said.
The Maaleh Adumim expansion is expected to be a key item in a meeting between Mr Sharon and US President George W Bush in April.
In Israel's parliament, legislators voted 72-39 to reject the referendum proposal. Mr Sharon had accused withdrawal opponents of trying to buy time by seeking a referendum; preparations for a national vote would have taken months, during which opponents could try again to bring down Mr Sharon.
According to opinion polls, a large majority of Israelis support the Gaza withdrawal.
Israel's military, meanwhile, lifted a blanket closure of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, which had been imposed last Wednesday for the Jewish holiday of Purim.
Even after the lifting of the ban, entry of Palestinians to Israel remains severely restricted.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
