Israeli militants warn of civil war over Gaza

Militant settlers warned of violence and civil war after Israel’s parliament cleared away a major obstacle in front of a planned pullout from all 21 Gaza settlements and four in the West Bank this summer, handily defeating a call for a referendum.

The Knesset, Israel’s parliament, following Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s lead, rejected the plebiscite proposal yesterday by a vote of 72-39. Sharon had denounced the call for a referendum as a last-ditch effort by the settlers and their backers – many in his own Likud party – to scuttle the pullout.