Sharon gets tough with Cabinet over Gaza

ISRAELI Prime Minister Ariel Sharon yesterday threatened to dismiss members of his Cabinet who do not support his plan to withdraw from the Gaza Strip.

This has raised the stakes in a showdown that could lead to the break-up of his government, participants in the meeting said.

Mr Sharon told the ministers during a heated Cabinet debate that he is determined to get his plan approved even if he has to "change the make-up of the government or take unprecedented political steps," one of those present said on condition of anonymity.

A Cabinet vote on the plan was not expected before next week.

The proposal has bitterly divided Mr Sharon's 23-member Cabinet, with 11 ministers having spoken in favour of a Gaza withdrawal and 12 against. Israeli media said two ministers from the hard-line National Union party could be the first to go, which would give Mr Sharon the majority he needs.

The debate came hours after an Israeli missile strike killed a senior Hamas commander and two other Palestinians in Gaza. The Israeli military has stepped up a crackdown on Palestinian militants ahead of a possible withdrawal, to avoid any appearance that it is fleeing under fire.

Sharon's Likud Party rejected his Gaza pull-out plan in a referendum on May 2, but the prime minister has pledged to push forward.

After failing to reach a compromise with hard-line critics in his Cabinet last week, Mr Sharon decided to present a plan which would implement only minor changes to his government yesterday.

The plan calls for a complete withdrawal from Gaza and uprooting four West Bank settlements in four stages.

Polls indicate a solid majority of Israelis support the plan.

Some 7,500 Jewish settlers live amid 1.3 million Palestinians in Gaza, which Israel captured in the 1967 Mideast war. Sharon has said withdrawing from the area would boost Israel's security and help maintain its hold on West Bank settlements.

In Gaza, meanwhile, Wael Nassar, 38, a top Hamas commander, was killed early yesterday in an Israeli air strike, along with his assistant, Mohammed Sarsour, 31, and a bystander.

The two Hamas leaders were on a motorcycle when it exploded, according to witnesses.

Hamas called the attack a "cowardly assassination crime".