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Apr. 30, 2004 17:38 | Updated May. 1, 2004 0:52
PM: New elections likely if disengagement is rejected
By JPOST.COM STAFF
Israel might be heading for new elections if Likud members reject the disengagement plan in Sunday's in-party referendum, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said Friday in an interview with Channel 2.
The prime minister added that a rejection of his plan to evacuate all settlements in the Gaza Strip and four settlements in the Northern West Bank, will create "very, very difficult conditions" for him to run the country.
"Whoever votes for the plan, supports me; whoever votes against the plan, votes against me", the prime minister said in a similar interview broadcast on Channel 1.
"I feel there is a great danger that we will be dragged into elections, as a result of which the Likud could be pushed out of power," Sharon said on Channel 10 TV.
He also made it clear that his efforts are focused on explaining to both Likud members and the public that if the disengagement plan is not approved Israel is bound to face increasing terror attacks.
He appealed to Likud members to vote for his plan and said that a rejection of the plan will be a victory for PA Chairman Yasser Arafat and Hamas.
Asked if Arafat should be "heading for shelter in a bunker" in case the plan is approved, Sharon rejected the notion of his using military tactics in order to advance political agendas, but added that whoever has Jewish and Israeli blood on his hands should always be in a bunker.
Evoking Memorial Day, Sharon said that he was deeply touched by the sorrow and pain that families of fallen soldiers endure, adding, "every effort needs to be made to reduce this suffering. The plan I brought forth is the only one that, with God's help, will allow us to reach peace. It will result in fewer casualties, fewer losses and less suffering."
In reference to the anti-disengagement campaign, Sharon said that the same "extreme right" which is currently fighting for his fall was responsible for bringing down Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir, after the Madrid talks, and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, following the Wye River Agreement.
As for the relations with the United States, PM Sharon said that a failure to approve the Disengagement Plan will no doubt have dreadful repercussions on the special relations that exist between Israel and the United States.
Israel's ambassador in the US, Danny Ayalon, said that Bush administration officials are worried about the Likud vote. Ayalon told Prime Minister Sharon that a Likud defeat of the disengagement plan may lead to the US retracting the commitments made regarding the Palestinian right of return and guarantees regarding West Bank settlement blocs.
On Friday, a group of 150 reserve officers, including a host of generals, published a half-page advertisement in Yediot calling a Gaza withdrawal "a brave step" that is good for Israel's security.
Apr. 30, 2004 17:38 | Updated May. 1, 2004 0:52
PM: New elections likely if disengagement is rejected
By JPOST.COM STAFF
Israel might be heading for new elections if Likud members reject the disengagement plan in Sunday's in-party referendum, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said Friday in an interview with Channel 2.
The prime minister added that a rejection of his plan to evacuate all settlements in the Gaza Strip and four settlements in the Northern West Bank, will create "very, very difficult conditions" for him to run the country.
"Whoever votes for the plan, supports me; whoever votes against the plan, votes against me", the prime minister said in a similar interview broadcast on Channel 1.
"I feel there is a great danger that we will be dragged into elections, as a result of which the Likud could be pushed out of power," Sharon said on Channel 10 TV.
He also made it clear that his efforts are focused on explaining to both Likud members and the public that if the disengagement plan is not approved Israel is bound to face increasing terror attacks.
He appealed to Likud members to vote for his plan and said that a rejection of the plan will be a victory for PA Chairman Yasser Arafat and Hamas.
Asked if Arafat should be "heading for shelter in a bunker" in case the plan is approved, Sharon rejected the notion of his using military tactics in order to advance political agendas, but added that whoever has Jewish and Israeli blood on his hands should always be in a bunker.
Evoking Memorial Day, Sharon said that he was deeply touched by the sorrow and pain that families of fallen soldiers endure, adding, "every effort needs to be made to reduce this suffering. The plan I brought forth is the only one that, with God's help, will allow us to reach peace. It will result in fewer casualties, fewer losses and less suffering."
In reference to the anti-disengagement campaign, Sharon said that the same "extreme right" which is currently fighting for his fall was responsible for bringing down Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir, after the Madrid talks, and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, following the Wye River Agreement.
As for the relations with the United States, PM Sharon said that a failure to approve the Disengagement Plan will no doubt have dreadful repercussions on the special relations that exist between Israel and the United States.
Israel's ambassador in the US, Danny Ayalon, said that Bush administration officials are worried about the Likud vote. Ayalon told Prime Minister Sharon that a Likud defeat of the disengagement plan may lead to the US retracting the commitments made regarding the Palestinian right of return and guarantees regarding West Bank settlement blocs.
On Friday, a group of 150 reserve officers, including a host of generals, published a half-page advertisement in Yediot calling a Gaza withdrawal "a brave step" that is good for Israel's security.
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