|
Israel Cabinet Approves Gaza Disengagement Plan
JPost - Reg reqâdThe cabinet voted in principle Sunday to withdraw from the Gaza Strip, exactly 37 years after Israel conquered it on the second day of the Six Day War. By a vote of 14-7, the cabinet â sans the fired tourism minister Benny Elon and transportation minister Avigdor Lieberman, both of National Union â approved the resolution. The resolution was opposed by five Likud ministers: Ministers-without-Portfolio Uzi Landau and Natan Sharansky, Agriculture Minister Yisrael Katz, Health Minister Dan Naveh, and Internal Security Minister Tzahi Hanegbi; and by Construction and Housing Minister Effi Eitam and Social Affairs Minister Zevulun Orlev of the National Religious Party. Likudâs Finance Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom, and Education Minister Limor Livnat decided in the end to support the resolution, after days of negotiations over a compromise hammered out by Immigration Absorption Minister Tzipi Livni. According to the resolution, the government approved the staged disengagement plan, while noting "There is nothing in this [decision] to [enable] evacuating settlements." At the same time, the resolution approved implementing the preparatory work necessary to evacuate the settlements. "After the preparatory work is completed, the government will reconvene in order to hold a separate discussion and decide whether to evacuate settlements, which settlements, and at what pace â dependent on the conditions at the time," the resolution read. In other words, according to a senior cabinet official, the government approved the principle of evacuating the 21 Gaza settlements and four more in northern Samaria. It just put off voting on the implementation of this decision for another six or nine months, depending on how long it takes to draw up the necessary legislation dealing with compensation, resettlement, and other connected issues. *snip* looks like Sharonâs got his agreement - wall âem off and let em kill each other Posted by: Frank G 2004-06-06 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=34833 |