MIDDLE EAST: Israel's parliament backed compensation payments for Jewish settlers leaving the Gaza Strip in a vital vote yesterday for Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's plan to evacuate the occupied territory.
Right-winger Mr Sharon only won with help from centre-left opponents.
In a sign of his political vulnerability, he postponed a separate vote on the 2005 budget that he could have lost without support from rebels in his ruling Likud party.
The US-backed plan to evacuate troops and settlers from the Gaza Strip and parts of the northern West Bank next year has thrown politics into turmoil in the Jewish state and sparked warnings of civil strife.
It would be the first time that Israel has removed settlements from land captured in the 1967 Middle East war, though Palestinians fear it would strengthen Israel's hold on most West Bank settlements and deny them a viable state.
Settlers are expected to get up to $500,000 per family for quitting the 21 Gaza settlements and four of 120 settlements in the West Bank next year. Any who clash with the soldiers evicting them face up to five years in jail.
The compensation bill passed 64-44 with nine abstentions in its first reading. It must clear two more readings before becoming law, though settlers can already start filing claims.
In votes on the "disengagement" plan, the former general, who was once seen as the settlers' champion, counts on the centre-left opposition Labour party - which backed last week's landmark vote on the principle of withdrawing from Gaza. But Labour would vote against the 2005 state budget because of proposed spending cuts. Likud rebels could join the "No" vote on the budget to embarrass Mr Sharon without spelling the end of his government immediately. Uncertain that the budget could pass its first reading yesterday, the vote was postponed. A new date has yet to be set.
Financial markets would see any lengthy delay as a blow to Israel's economic credibility and fear that the government will whittle away spending cuts to get the budget through, upsetting international credit rating agencies.
Mr Sharon says his plan for "disengagement" from years of conflict with the Palestinians will make Israel easier to defend while strengthening its hold on West Bank settlements far bigger than those in Gaza.