Sharon's 'disengagement plan' on hold after poll defeat

A defiant Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said he would not resign despite the humiliating rejection of his Gaza withdrawal plan, and his allies suggested the veteran tactician will look for ways to override the veto of his Likud Party.

But the Likud’s resounding “no” in yesterday’s voting means Mr Sharon’s plan of “unilateral disengagement” from the Palestinians will be put on hold for now.

Army Radio reported early today that with all the votes counted, opponents of the plan had 60%, while supporters accounted for only 39%.

The vote was marred by violence. Palestinian gunmen killed a pregnant Gaza settler and her four daughters, ages two to 11, in an ambush on her car, firing from close range. Israel killed four Palestinian militants in the West Bank and destroyed a Hamas-affiliated radio station in Gaza in missile strikes.

Mr Sharon lagged in the polls for several days, but analysts said the Gaza shooting attack and the low turnout – only 40% of 193,000 Likud members voted - gave a further boost to opponents, who had run a well-organised campaign.

The disengagement plan envisions an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, home to 7,500 settlers, and the evacuation of four small West Bank settlements by the end of 2005, along with the completion of a West Bank separation barrier.

The US expressed veiled disappointment. “The president welcomed Prime Minister Sharon’s plan to withdraw settlements from Gaza and a part of the West Bank as a courageous and important step toward peace,” said White House spokesman Scott McClellan. “We will be in consultation with the Prime Minister and the Government of Israel about how to move forward.”

Palestinian leaders, who have dismissed Mr Sharon’s unilateral plan as an attempt to tighten Israel’s hold over large parts of the West Bank, played down yesterday’s vote as an internal Israeli matter.

In Gaza, the Islamic Jihad group, which carried out the Gaza shooting along with another faction, said Israel would eventually have to leave the territory. “We are sure the enemy will flee from Gaza,” said Khader Habib, a leader of the group.

Israeli opponents of Mr Sharon’s plan have said he was surrendering to Palestinian violence. For decades, Mr Sharon was the foremost champion of settlement expansion and led a hawkish line in Likud.

Sharon allies in the party warned that the Likud was becoming increasingly less appealing to moderate Israeli voters and could get hurt in the next election. A majority of Israelis support the withdrawal plan, and Sunday’s no vote could brand Likud as being too far to the right of the mainstream.

“This is not good for the country and a terrible day for the party,” said absorption minister Tzipi Livni, a Sharon ally.

Vice premier Ehud Olmert said disengagement is inevitable and that Mr Sharon is determined to move forward, though he stopped short of saying how he would override the party’s decision. “There is no way to stop this process,” Mr Olmert said.

Opponents celebrated their victory. Likud members chose “a no-compromise fight against terrorism” over “loyalty to the prime minister”, said Cabinet minister Natan Sharansky.

The low turnout might help Mr Sharon undermine the legitimacy of the result, analysts said. The Prime Minister said in a statement yesterday that he will “respect” the outcome of the vote, but suggested he would not drop the plan.

“The people of Israel did not want me to sit for four years with my hands folded,” Mr Sharon said. “I was elected to bring to this nation the calm, peace and security it deserves.

“I intend to continue to lead the state of Israel according to the best of my abilities, my conscience and my public obligations.”

Mr Sharon requires Cabinet approval to move ahead with the plan.

The vote might also strain Mr Sharon’s relations with US President George Bush. Last month, the President went out of his way to help Mr Sharon, endorsing the disengagement plan and giving the Israeli leader unprecedented assurances that in a final peace deal, Israel would not have to withdraw from all of the West Bank.

Palestinian Cabinet minister Saeb Erekat demanded yesterday that Mr Bush withdraw his guarantees. “We call on President Bush to declare that the letter of assurance he gave to Sharon is off the table,” Mr Erekat said.