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From: Eddie Chumney
To: heb_roots_chr@hebroots.org
Subject: Political Crisis in Israel?

POLITICAL CRISIS IN ISRAEL

Arutz Sheva News Service
http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com
Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2004 / Shvat 11, 5764

TODAY'S HEADLINES:

1. NATIONALIST CAMP SAYS IT WILL BRING DOWN SHARON
2. REACTIONS ON THE RIGHT

1. NATIONALIST CAMP SAYS IT WILL BRING DOWN SHARON
"The Prime Minister's notion to destroy 17 blossoming Jewish communities in the Gaza Strip is an act of insanity and devoid of morality... It will not come to fruition, because myriads of people will prevent it by forming a human wall wherever necessary." So says the Yesha Rabbis Council, in response to Mr. Sharon's announcement of intention to make Gaza Jew-free. "I am working on the assumption that in the future there will be no Jews in Gaza," Sharon said yesterday.

The plan "brings closer than ever the end of Sharon's term in office, just as happened to the others who took a similar approach," the Yesha Rabbis Council stated. A possible harbinger of such took place yesterday in the Knesset when a no-confidence motion in the government was only narrowly defeated, 42-41. The MKs and ministers of the NRP and National Union - which together comprise 13 of the government's 68 MKs - made sure not to show up for the vote, as did at least two Likud MKs. In fact, in order to ensure sufficient support for the government, Likud MK Majali Wahbee, who was celebrating a Moslem holiday at the Dead Sea, was called away from his vacation to show up for the vote.

Deputy Minister MK Rabbi Yitzchak Levy (NRP) told Arutz-7 today that by staying away from yesterday's vote, his party is signaling the Prime Minister that his coalition is in trouble. He demands that Sharon bring the plan to the Cabinet for debate, but implies that his party's days in the government are numbered. "If Sharon adheres to this plan and brings it to Washington next month," Levy said, "I hope that he will find himself without a government."

Twenty-one of the Likud's 40 MKs have already announced that they object, to one extent or another, to the unilateral withdrawal. Among them are Minister Meir Sheetrit, who is among the more dovish Likud members but is against any actions not taken in cooperation with the Palestinian Authority; Ehud Yatom, who said that he prefers new elections over such a plan; and several Cabinet ministers.

The National Religious Party and National Union will almost certainly not remain in the government if the withdrawal plan begins to take shape, leaving Sharon with only the Likud and Shinui (15 MKs). The Labor Party (19) will, in such a case, be asked to join the government, and most Labor officials say or intimate that they would, in fact, help Sharon form a new government under such circumstances. This would help Sharon, however, only if at least 27 of the Likud's 40 MKs support him - which is, at the moment, not guaranteed.

This Tu Bishvat support the Pioneers of Yesha with Tasty Gifts from the Fruits of Yesha!

2. REACTIONS ON THE RIGHT

The Council of Jewish Communities in Judea, Samaria and Gaza held an emergency meeting yesterday. It will embark on a new publicity campaign under the theme, "The IDF Warns: Uprooting Communities is a Prize for Terrorism." Protests will be held in central intersections throughout the country, and outside Sharon's Shikmim Farm residence in the Negev.

MK Yuval Shteinitz, Chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, said he is in favor of a unilateral withdrawal from Gaza - but only if the proper measures are taken to ensure that the terrorists cannot use it as a springboard to secure a similar withdrawal from Judea and Samaria.

Tourism Minister Benny Elon (National Union) said, "I hope that the Prime Minister understood [from yesterday's no-confidence vote] that the national camp will not allow the abandonment of parts of our national homeland, by relying on the left and the Arabs. It is disgraceful on his part to release a plan to uproot Jewish towns while the murderous terrorism continues to strike opposite his very residence."

Trade Minister Ehud Olmert (Likud), who was the first in the Likud to talk publicly of a unilateral withdrawal, said last night that it is critical for Israel to "separate from the Palestinians." In his estimation, a similar withdrawal would take place in some areas of Judea and Samaria. Sharon, too, implied as much when speaking with Likud MKs yesterday. He also added that he was not including the three northern Gaza communities - Elei Sinai, Nisanit and Dugit - in his withdrawal plans.

Olmert predicted that the process of uprooting the Gaza towns would begin in June or July. Sharon himself, however, acknowledged that his plan would not be easy to implement: "We are talking of a population of 7,500 people. It's not a simple matter. We are talking of thousands of square kilometers of hothouses, factories and packing plants. People there who are third-generation. The first thing is to ask their agreement, to reach an agreement with the residents. To move thousands of dunams of hothouses, educational institutions, thousands and thousands of vehicles - it's not a quick matter, especially if it's done under fire."

In addition, noted the website of the Gush Katif communities, Katif.net, "Sharon himself said that this was just a plan, and that he would first consult with the Americans, and with his coalition partners, and with the residents - but Olmert apparently has a 'spirit of prophecy' and knows that it will take place in four months."

MK Ayoub Kara of the Likud objects very strongly to a unilateral withdrawal from Gaza as proposed by Sharon, and says that it is not yet a done deal. He told Arutz-7 this morning that when the Likud Central Committee next convenes, "we are hoping to have some important changes made," including, he said, the famous Clause 19-c amendment.  This would stipulate that any Likud MK who votes against the party platform or against a Central Committee decision would not be able to run for national office in the Likud Party for the ensuing five years. This would preclude party members' support for a Palestinian state or for the withdrawal from Gaza. Kara went even further, however, saying that if necessary, "we will take active steps within the Likud Knesset faction," referring to a vote of no-confidence in the national government, headed by the Likud. Likud MK Ehud Yatom said clearly yesterday that if he had to choose between a unilateral withdrawal from Gaza and new elections, he would choose the latter.

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Arutz Sheva News Service
http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com
Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2004 / Shvat 12, 5764

TODAY'S HEADLINES:
1. LIKUD MKs THREATEN TO VOTE OUT SHARON
2. RABBIS CALL FOR FAST
3. P.A. AND FATAH OFFICIALS REACT TO PM SHARON'S PLAN

1. LIKUD MKs THREATEN TO VOTE OUT SHARON

Likud MKs Edelstein and Erdan are collecting signatures on a sharp letter to Prime Minister Sharon in which they threaten to bring down his government. Arutz-7's Haggai Seri-Levy read the letter aloud on Arutz-7 only a half-hour after it began to be disseminated:

"We, MKs in the Likud Knesset faction, request of you not to make unilateral decisions to evacuate the legal settlements in Judea, Samaria and Gaza. We followed you in the elections when this issue was not on the agenda, and we ask that before a decision is made, a debate is held in the party institutions. We express deep concern about the very possibility that the left-wing parties would join the government in order to implement this plan. We wish to hereby make it clear in advance that it will be very difficult for us to support this plan of yours if it is not discussed first in the party institutions. In the event that for the purpose of implementing this plan, you will make changes in the government and add the Labor Party in order to support the plan, we will not be able to support these appointments."

Seri-Levy adds that though they don't say so in the letter, the signatories threaten to vote no-confidence in Sharon as well, if it comes to that. "So far, only four MKs - Edelstein, Erdan, Kara and Yatom - are signed on the letter," he said, "but it's only been a half-hour. So let's wait and see." As of an hour and a half later, six more MKs had signed; MK David Levy said he would not sign "because its tone is too moderate."

Within the Likud, 21 of the 40 MKs are said to be against Sharon's withdrawal plan, including Ruby Rivlin, Naomi Blumental, David Levy, and Leah Ness, as well as Ministers Shalom, HaNegbi, Katz, Landau and Sheetrit. Four are undecided, including Ministers Netanyahu and Naveh and MKs Saar and Avraham. The plan thus does not currently appear to have good chances of passing even a Cabinet vote.

MK Yechiel Chazan, the Likud's Yesha representative, has begun contacts to try to start a split within the party. He is planning to hold a gathering of supporters very soon, and is not hiding his intentions to break up the party if Sharon continues to go through with his plan.

The Yesha Council [Council of Jewish Communities in Judea, Samaria and Gaza] continues to call on the right-wing parties in the government - the National Religious Party and the National Union - to quit the coalition even before Prime Minister Sharon departs for the U.S. and his meeting with President Bush. "Quitting after Sharon submits his plan to Bush," said Council leaders Bentzy Lieberman and Tzviki Bar-Chai, "will be too late, as the plan will have already gotten underway." They call upon the public to realize that Sharon is not merely playing a media game, "but is truly serious about his plans and they are on their way to execution."

This Tu Bishvat support the Pioneers of Yesha with Tasty Gifts from the Fruits of Yesha!

2. RABBIS CALL FOR FAST

The Yesha Rabbis Council has called a day of fasting and prayer for tomorrow, in light of the Prime Minister's "decree" of expulsion and destruction hanging over the heads of the Jewish residents of Gaza.

Labor MK Amram Mitzna, speaking with Arutz-7 today, said, "Yes, Sharon has adopted large parts of my plan. I would say that both right and left are united in being suspicious of him as to whether he will be able to carry it out. There is no trust in him from either side, and the police investigations turn his plan into something that is dependent on outside factors. However, now that he has said it, whatever his motivations are, he won't be able to retract it. He says that he has reached the conclusion that we cannot win by force alone. I must admit that there is some truth to the terrorists' claim of today that this is victory for them and that they want us to run away. We have long said that we want to fight terrorism, but only in the framework of what is in our best interest, and not to run away in panic. I have always been in favor of getting out of Gaza right away - but only in the framework of dialogue with the PA... By the way, my! plan is that the army will remain there to fight terrorism until an agreement is reached."

3. P.A. AND FATAH OFFICIALS REACT TO PM SHARON'S PLAN
Leading Fatah officials believe that despite, or because of, Ariel Sharon's plan to quit Gaza, the terrorist war on Israel - unifying Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Fatah - must continue. Nabil Abu Rudeina, advisor to PLO leader Yasser Arafat, and Sameer Mashrawi, a member of Fatah's leadership council, both spoke yesterday with the Arabic-language satellite station Al-Jazeera.

Interviewed from Ramallah, Abu Rudeina said that Sharon's declarations "are not serious. The only aim of the Israeli declarations is to mislead the international public and to avoid implementing the signed agreements.... [and] to cover up the internal problems of Sharon and an attempt to hide the truth."

In answer to Al-Jazeera's question whether Sharon's declaration can be seen as a "victory for the intifada," Abu Rudeina replied: "The intifada is winning, either with these declarations or without them. The intifada is the only way that might lead to peace."

Sameer Mashrawi of Arafat's Fatah faction told Al-Jazeera that "we do not necessarily trust statements by Sharon or his government," but in any event, "no one should believe any such move is a result of Israeli good will, but rather highlights Israel's security and moral bankruptcy." Praising terrorist groups from Hamas and Fatah, Mashrawi continued, "[The unity of] the Al-Aqsa Brigades, the Al-Quds Brigades and the Al-Qassam Brigades... has shown to all that the intifada has won out against the butcher's knife and the occupying army's arrogance."

Both PLO representatives declared that the Gaza declarations are a diversion from the "real issue" - the separation fence in Samaria and Judea.

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Sharon Ready for Referendum on Scrapping Settlements

Reuters

By Mark Heinrich

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon (news - web sites) said Wednesday he was prepared to hold a referendum before carrying out controversial plans to evacuate some of the Jewish settlements in occupied territories.

Sharon's plan to remove almost all settlements in the Gaza Strip (news - web sites) has enraged settlers and their rightist patrons, putting his coalition in jeopardy, but he won rare backing from the United Nations (news - web sites) Wednesday.

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan (news - web sites) praised the plan as "a first essential step" and said he hoped Sharon would extend it to the West Bank.

Polls show most Israelis favor scrapping Jewish enclaves exposed to a Palestinian uprising, both in Gaza and the West Bank, where Sharon plans to leave most settlements alone.

"If they want a referendum, it's a good idea," Sharon was quoted by his spokesman Raanan Gissin as saying when told two deputies of his Likud party would next week submit legislation authorizing a referendum.

Fifty-nine percent of Israelis backed a pullout from Gaza in a new poll.

Gissin said Sharon had other options if ultra-nationalist allies tried to topple his government over his stunning reversal of Israel's decades-old settlement building drive on land captured in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.

"He can continue with this government (or) if at any time some members walk out, he can add other (partners)," Gissin said. The dovish opposition Labor Party, with 19 seats, has endorsed Sharon's Gaza plan.

Gissin said Sharon could also call early elections.

Commentators see that as unlikely since his term does not expire until 2007 and Labor, Sharon's main partner in a previous coalition, is seen as amenable to back the prime minister should he go ahead with settlement evacuation.

FRESH TALKS ON SUMMIT

Sharon has rejected criticism that he is trying to distract attention from a corruption probe of him and his family.

Palestinians seeking an independent state have welcomed the Gaza initiative from the erstwhile patron of Jewish settlements. Talks to set up a summit with his Palestinian counterpart Ahmed Qurie were resumed Wednesday, but no date has yet been set.

"The withdrawal from Gaza that has been announced by the prime minister, if it does take place, can really give us a very important moment and a new dynamic that can propel the process forward," Annan said.

But he added that "withdrawal from the West Bank will also be required if you're going to establish two states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace, and really fulfil the spirit of land for peace."

Annan said he hoped the "Quartet" of Middle East mediators -- the United States, Russia, the European Union (news - web sites) and the United Nations -- could help Sharon implement the plan.

Jibril Rajoub, the security adviser to Palestinian President Yasser Arafat (news - web sites), said Palestinians feared Sharon's unilateral Gaza plan might try to supersede a stalled, U.S.-backed peace plan by leaving a far greater number of settlers ensconced in their West Bank enclaves.

The "road map" envisages a viable Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza by 2005. Qurie, who praised Sharon's plan on Tuesday, urged Israel to quit all of Gaza and the West Bank.

Sharon wants to dismantle 17 of Gaza's 21 Jewish enclaves where 7,500 heavily-guarded Jews live subject to constant attack by militants amid 1.3 million Palestinians. He proposes removing only three of the more than 120 enclaves in the West Bank.

But Israeli opposition figures, commentators and Palestinian officials have wondered whether Sharon is serious, citing what they see as a wide gap between his policy statements and acts.

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