Sharon goes for bust with Gaza withdrawal plan

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon will ask his Cabinet on Sunday to approve his proposal to withdraw from the entire Gaza Strip, officials said today, setting up a showdown with opponents that could bring down the government.

Sharon made his decision after attempts to reach a compromise with hard-line members of his coalition failed, the officials said. Hard-liners have threatened to quit the government if the plan is passed.

The officials warned that the 23-member Cabinet was closely divided and approval during Sunday’s meeting remained uncertain.

In new violence today, a car bomb exploded near an Israeli convoy on the Gaza-Egypt border, killing a Palestinian attacker and slightly wounding two soldiers, the army said.

Sharon has been trying to salvage the Gaza pullout plan since his Likud Party rejected the proposal in a referendum early this month.

The original plan called for a complete withdrawal from Gaza, where 7,500 Jewish settlers live among 1.3 million Palestinians, and the evacuation of four isolated settlements in the West Bank.

After the referendum setback, Sharon called for a revised scheme calling for a similar withdrawal, but in four stages instead of one.

Seeking to placate his opponents, Sharon yesterday proposed that the Cabinet vote only on a very small portion of his plan – the evacuation of three small settlements in Gaza – and that a repeat vote be held several months from now.

But even that watered-down proposal ran into trouble.

Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Sharon’s biggest rival in the Likud, gave only tepid support, and the pro-settlement National Religious Party threatened to pull out of the government if any settlements are uprooted.

An official in Sharon’s office said the prime minister had approached Netanyahu and other wavering ministers in hopes of reaching a compromise.

“They refused to compromise, so we are returning to the full plan,” the official said. Copies of the proposal were being distributed to the entire Cabinet today.

Sharon, a former general and one of the great survivors of Israeli politics, now faces growing speculation about his political future.

Many Likud members strongly oppose any pullout, and settlers have held protests outside the homes of undecided ministers, urging them to vote no.

After today’s setbacks, Israeli newspapers said that Sharon’s days in office may be numbered. “Sharon folds,” said the lead headline in the Maariv daily.

Many commentators said new elections may be needed. Israel’s next election is scheduled in 2007, but early elections would be called if Sharon is forced to resign and a majority coalition can’t be formed with the current makeup of parliament.

Palestinians have been ambivalent about the proposal, demanding coordination with the Israelis over a withdrawal but welcoming, in principle, any Israeli evacuation from Palestinian areas.

Promoting his failed original plan, Sharon said there was no future for the settlers in Gaza. He said settlements there must be sacrificed in order to assure the future of settlements in the West Bank, where more than 200,000 Jews live.