MIDDLE EAST: Ahead of a Sunday cabinet showdown on his plan to withdraw from the Gaza Strip, Israel's Prime Minister, Mr Ariel Sharon, was last night set to dismiss one or two hardline ministers from a minor coalition party to try and ensure majority support writes David Horowitz in Jerusalem.
Ministers from Mr Sharon's governing Likud party have spent long hours trying to find a compromise formula that would see an amended version of the plan approved and the multi-party coalition remaining intact.
But Mr Sharon, one of whose senior aides was told by the White House this week that President Bush would only back his original disengagement plan, was last night reported to have rejected the compromise option, under which Gaza settlements would continue to receive government funding for expansion until the timetable for their evacuation was approved in a separate vote.
Since Mr Sharon said again yesterday that he intended to present the Gaza withdrawal for approval on Sunday, and was confident he would attain a majority, his sole remaining option appears to be reconstituting the cabinet.
There had been some speculation that Mr Natan Sharansky, the minister for Jerusalem affairs, might be eased out of the cabinet and appointed head of the quasi-governmental Jewish Agency, which handles immigration affairs.
But it seemed more likely last night that Mr Sharon would dismiss Mr Avigdor Lieberman, and possibly Mr Benny Elon, leaders of the far-right National Union faction. Since ministerial dismissals take effect only after 48 hours, Mr Sharon would need to send out letters sacking them overnight or early today at latest.
The Prime Minister's problems will not end with such dismissals, however. Another rightist faction, the National Religious Party, may bolt the coalition of its own accord. And in rejecting the compromise option, Mr Sharon risks alienating his most dangerous rival, the Finance Minister, Mr Benjamin Netanyahu, who might henceforth publicly challenge the Prime Minister's leadership.
Opinion polls among the Israeli public, and among Likud voters, show overwhelming support for Mr Sharon's plan to dismantle Gaza's 21 settlements and withdraw the army from the Strip by the end of next year.
Egypt is also indicating readiness to try and ensure that Hamas and other extremists do not fill the vacuum after an Israeli departure and is pressuring the Palestinian Authority president, Mr Yasser Arafat, to reconstitute the PA's security forces and appoint more credible commanders.