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| Sharon Survives Vote Over Settlements |
| 2004-02-17 |
| Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon survived no confidence motions Monday, even though some legislative allies abstained amid deep divisions over his plans to evacuate some Jewish settlements. With the cracks showing in his center-right coalition, Sharon appealed for a broad-based government of national consensus. The parliament voted against the three motions by 53 to 45 margins, with 22 members either abstaining or not showing up for the session. The opposition needed 61 of the 120 members of parliament to topple the government. But two of Sharon’s three coalition partners used the votes to emphasize their threat to quit if he goes ahead with his plan to evacuate almost all the settlements from the Gaza Strip and a few in the West Bank as part of his "unilateral disengagement" steps if peace talks with the Palestinians remain bogged down. "Whenever the prime minister wants to expel Jews from their land, he needs to resign," deputy Education Minister Zvi Hendel of the National Union Party told Israel TV. Hendel did not take part in the no-confidence votes as a protest against Sharon’s policies. Good idea. Most Israelis support evacuating Gaza. Put it to a vote. Hendel’s party and the equally pro-settlement National Religious Party say they will resign if Sharon makes a move toward evacuating settlements. That would deprive Sharon’s government of its parliamentary majority. The dovish opposition Labor Party has promised it would back Sharon if he carries out his plan to remove settlements, but that might not prevent a toppling of the government if hard-line parties pull out, leaving Sharon vulnerable on other issues. Without mentioning his dovish rivals by name, Sharon emphasized his preference for a broad-based government - one option if his present coalition collapses. "I am a great believer in the strength of national unity," Sharon said. "I call on all the members of this house ... to join in this effort that is so important to us." "Back me or the nuts might take over!" "National unity" is the term applied to broad ruling coalitions including Labor and Sharon’s Likud. Sharon headed a national unity coalition for 15 months before Labor pulled out over a settlement issue in November 2002, forcing an election. Meanwhile, Sharon’s pro-settlement coalition infuriated the dovish opposition by approving an additional $21 million in funding for settlements. Some communities receiving the funds are unauthorized settler outposts. Sharon has vowed to dismantle the outposts to comply with the U.S.-backed "road map" peace plan, which starts with a halt to three years of violence and leads to a Palestinian state by 2005. One step forward, one step back. The opposition harshly criticized the allocations, noting that none of the funds were going to communities inside Israel proper and complaining that some of the settlements are due for dismantling under Sharon’s plan. Meanwhile, German foreign minister Joschka Fischer on Monday welcomed Sharon’s proposal to dismantle most settlements, but he urged Israel to make "substantive" changes to the route of the West Bank barrier. Speaking at a conference on Israel’s relations with the European Union, Fischer said the EU objected to the international court considering the legality of the barrier. He said Israel has the right to protect its citizens from attacks. So even the EU doesn’t back the court, eh? Wonder if it’ll make any difference ... naaah! |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #2 It would be interesting to see - note this is one of my very few serious ideas - the Arab League take over the job of policing the West Bank and Gaza Strip after the Israelis disengage. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2004-2-17 1:15:38 PM |
| #1 Gotta move those settlements before the wall is finished. |
| Posted by: D-Kaff_247 2004-2-17 9:41:48 AM |