Sharon to Amend Gaza Plan After Party Rebuff JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon (news - web sites) said Monday he would amend his Gaza withdrawal plan to win over his right-wing party after it overwhelmingly rejected the U.S.- backed initiative in a referendum.
Buoyed by Sunday's vote, Jewish settlers in the Gaza Strip (news - web sites) poured concrete for a new neighborhood Monday while ultra- nationalist Jews moved into an Arab district of Jerusalem. Leftist and Arab legislators mounted a no-confidence vote against Sharon over what they called his government's "socio-economic and diplomatic failures," but lost by a 62-46 margin. Sharon has beaten back several such votes this year. Sharon's allies said that while the referendum was a humiliating reverse, he would not retreat since his landmark plan for "disengagement" from conflict with Palestinians enjoyed the support of most Israelis as shown by various opinion polls. He was also keen not to alienate Washington, which reversed decades of policy and incurred Arab anger by assuring Israel it would not have to cede the whole West Bank under any peace deal if it unilaterally vacated Gaza as a start toward negotiations. "There is no doubt disengagement is inevitable and unstoppable," Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said of the plan to end Israel's 37- year occupation of the crowded Mediterranean territory while keeping parts of the larger West Bank. "In the end it will happen because the alternative is more murder, terrorism and attacks without us having any wise answer for what 7,500 Jewish (settlers) are doing among 1.2 million Palestinians (in Gaza)," Olmert told Israel Radio. Sharon told Likud lawmakers later he would modify the plan to prevent Israel "being embroiled in the most difficult circumstances," a euphemism for an internationally-imposed peace accord he feels would require dangerous territorial handovers. "The (referendum) result may be a tactical victory (for foes) but one that does strategic damage to Israel," he said. "If anyone thinks for a moment that these results mean deadlock, sitting around and waiting for what will come next, they are wrong," said the 76-year-old ex-general and longtime godfather of the settlement movement before a recent about-face. PARED-DOWN PULLOUT? Sharon did not say what changes he had in mind. But Likud sources said one way of rallying the party behind him might be to vacate only some Gaza enclaves "most exposed" to violence. He promised to bring an amended proposal to Likud MPs, the cabinet and full parliament for approval. He warned "difficult decisions will need to be made" in talks with his coalition cabinet and party factions. A Sharon confidant said he would make his first moves by Thursday. Political sources said Sharon was considering sacking his powerful hard-line Likud rival Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (news - web sites) for failing to campaign for "disengagement." But a spokesman in Sharon's office denied this. His strategy also entails holding on to larger West Bank settlement blocs with the majority of Jews in territory captured in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, depriving Palestinians of swathes of land they seek for an independent state. Palestinian officials said Likud had no right to decide Palestinians' future by an internal vote and called again for negotiations based on a stalled U.S.-backed "road map." The White House reaffirmed backing for Sharon's blueprint after the Likud vote and said it would examine options with him. It called his plan "a courageous and important step toward peace" with the road map scheme for Palestinian statehood in Gaza and the West Bank stymied by persistent violence, for which Bush pins blame on continued Palestinian militant attacks. The Middle East Quartet responsible for the road map -- the United States, the European Union (news - web sites), Russia and the United Nations (news - web sites) -- meet in New York Tuesday to discuss their next step in the face of further bloodshed, the U.S. policy shift and Likud vote. Sharon had figured his plan's passage through his traditionally pro- settler party would be smoothed by the unprecedented guarantees from President Bush (news - web sites). But settlers struck a chord among Likud voters by lobbying hard against evacuation as "a reward for terrorism." Settlers laying the foundations for new homes in the Gush Katif settlement bloc of southern Gaza said they were following up on their Likud supporters' thumbs-down to any withdrawal. "We are starting a new neighborhood to tell the whole world that we are here to stay," said Esther Lillianthal. ------------------------ Yahoo! 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