ISRAEL: In a dramatic indication of his wilting parliamentary support, Prime Minister Mr Ariel Sharon failed yesterday to win majority backing for his speech at the opening of parliament, after telling lawmakers that he planned to bring his Gaza withdrawal plan to the plenum by October 25th.
The vote on the Prime Minister's speech, which opens every new parliamentary session, is symbolic and does not have any practical ramifications. But the fact that Mr Sharon failed to garner a majority for his speech, which mentioned his plan to evacuate all 21 settlements in Gaza and four in the northern West Bank, is a clear indication of the battle he faces in the coming months if he is to get parliament to approve the plan and then implement it. He lost the vote 53-44 in the 120-seat parliament.
In the coming weeks, Mr Sharon told the plenum, parliament "will have to take extremely tough decisions that are vital to the security of Israel, to its prosperity and to its future". He also expressed support for the moribund "road map" peace plan, but said it could not be implemented until the Palestinians proved they were serious peace partners.
If Mr Sharon succeeds in getting parliament to approve his plan on October 25th, he will bring another bill to the plenum about a week later, which includes compensation for settlers who are to be evacuated from their homes.
The growing sense among lawmakers is that the Prime Minister will not succeed in pulling out of Gaza and that the country will go to elections some time next year. He faces strong opposition to his plan inside his own ruling Likud party, and to push it through will require the support of Labour. His close aides yesterday said he might renew overtures to the centre-left party to join his coalition.
Mr Sharon, meanwhile, has refused a request by the military to wind up the operation in northern Gaza, in which more than 100 Palestinians have been killed, 39 of them civilians.