Sharon loses vote on Gaza withdrawal

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Ariel Sharon (AP Photo)
May 2, 2004

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BY CONAL URQUHART
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

May 2, 2004, 8:44 PM EDT

JERUSALEM -- Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon suffered an embarrassing defeat on his proposal to withdraw from settlements in the Gaza Strip and northern West Bank, according to early results Sunday.

Although Sharon said he would "respect" the results of the referendum within his Likud Party, other officials suggested the issue wasn't dead.







Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, one of Sharon's few close allies in the cabinet, said Sunday that they would seek a different kind of mandate.

"This move cannot be stopped just on the basis of today's decision... . There is no alternative for Israel if we want to stop terrorism."

Sharon, who has said he does not consider the vote legally binding, vowed to consult with party and government officials on his next step.

"One thing is clear to me," he said Sunday night. "The Israeli people did not elect me to sit on my hands for four years. I was elected to find a way to bring the peace and security that so deserve."

With about half the ballots counted, about 60 percent of Likud members who voted rejected Sharon's plan, while 40 percent supported it. The turnout was less than 50 percent.

The referendum took place on a day of violence which saw the killing of a pregnant Jewish settler and her four young daughters in Gaza. In a subsequent Israeli airstrike, four Palestinian militants died in the West Bank city of Nablus.

Sharon said the settlers' killings showed the necessity of backing his plan, in which Israeli settlers and troops would pull out of Gaza but remain in most settlements in the West Bank.

"The disengagement plan is a harsh and painful blow to the Palestinians," Sharon said. "The Palestinians will do everything to prevent its being accepted. Today's terrible murder is the Palestinian way of rejecting and disrupting the plan."

Palestinian officials, who have resented the unilateral nature of Sharon's proposal, appeared to downplay Sunday's vote. "The best and most peaceful way ... is serious negotiations between the two sides," Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia said.

Outside the voting site in Jerusalem where Sharon cast his ballot, hundreds of people campaigned against his plan. The area was littered with fliers, many of which said, "Uprooting the settlements rewards terror."

Not a single supporter of Sharon's plan was canvassing there on its behalf.

Ruthie Meir, 48, a mother of eight, said she had rejected the withdrawal despite being a longtime Sharon supporter. "I am from Jerusalem, but I feel as if these homes in Gaza are my home. This is so hard for us, to see Sharon, who has built so much, turning back on us. I cannot imagine Jews taking Jews out of their homes."

Moshe Cohen, 57, an employee of the state telephone company, said he had voted for the plan. "This is a serious dilemma. Emotions are taking over, and members of my family have voted against the plan but I am backing Sharon," he said.

Shai Feldman, director of the Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies at Tel Aviv University, said Sharon's defeat within his own party placed the whole country in a tough position behind a weakened leader.

"It's going to be very difficult to pursue this further," Feldman said. "In many respects he will become a lame duck, although he can continue as prime minister."

Sharon, who confirmed Sunday night that he would remain in office, has a number of options if he decides to pursue the Gaza proposal.

Sharon could move forward with a cabinet vote, a Knesset vote, a national referendum or general election for a new government, according to Uzi Arad, director of the Israeli Institute of Policy and Strategy in Herzliya and an adviser to Sharon's rival and cabinet colleague, Benjamin Netanyahu.

He said party members' opposition to the plan was not a reflection of their unwillingness to compromise but of the plan's inherent weakness.

"The reservations of the rank and file of the Likud are about the lopsided nature of the unilateral disengagement plan. The formula always used to be land for peace; now it's land for nothing. This raises Palestinian expectations, corrupts the negotiating process, reduces our bargaining position and hardens theirs. Only the very extremes of the party are totally opposed to concessions," he said.

Another reason cited for Sharon's defeat was his failure to articulate his case publicly. Sharon appeared to have believed he would secure Likud backing for the plan with its endorsement by President George W. Bush when the two met in Washington last month.

In contrast, the settlers made a passionate defense of their right to stay in the homes and communities they have built up over 20 years.

"There was a huge gap of intent and commitment between the opponents and the supporters," Feldman said. "The reasons for supporting the plan are abstract and conceptual. The reasons for opposing are concrete -- it's about people's homes."