The Israeli parliament has voted against Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's statement defending his Gaza pullout plan.
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon: survived two votes of no confidence
But Mr Sharon survived two no-confidence motions and pledged to bring the withdrawal itself to a vote in two weeks.
The manoeuvring came yesterday at the opening of the winter session of the Knesset, Israel's parliament, with Mr Sharon heading a government that lost its majority over the Gaza pullout and is vulnerable to being toppled.
Mr Sharon told the noisy parliament that he would present the pullout plan for approval on October 25th, and then he would bring a bill for compensating the 8,500 settlers to be evacuated.
The evacuation is to begin in summer 2005 and last about 12 weeks, according to a government timetable, but Mr Sharon's government might not survive that long.
Over the heckling of hard-line lawmakers who reject the concept of removing any Jewish settlements, Mr Sharon declared that dismantling all 21 settlements in Gaza and four small ones in the West Bank is necessary to return the diplomatic initiative to Israel.
He said Israel accepts the US-backed "road map" peace plan, but the Palestinians have scuttled it by failing to stop militants from attacking Israelis and refusing to reform their administration. Palestinians charge that Israeli occupation and military operations are perpetuating the violence.