Israeli settlers say Prime Minister Ariel Sharon missed the last opportunity to prevent a civil war on Monday after he defeated an attempt by dissident MPs to force a referendum on the government’s plan to remove all Jewish settlers from the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli Parliament voted down the referendum Bill by 72 to 39 as settlers and their supporters rallied outside in protest against Sharon’s disengagement plan.
There are now no political or legal obstacles to the government forcibly removing Jewish settlers from the Gaza Strip and four small West Bank colonies after a July 20 deadline to leave voluntarily.
But the Council of Jewish Settlements, known as Yesha, said the rejection of the referendum could lead to violence.
”[Mr Sharon] has ruined chances of bringing the disengagement plan to the people for a decision and thus prevent a violent confrontation and a civil war,” it said in a statement. ”Yesha is moving its struggle to the people and the field and intends to stand … to prevent the expulsion of Jews.”
The council chairperson, Bentzi Lieberman, told army radio on Monday that with political alternatives exhausted, ”we will move to action in the streets” by mobilising 100 000 activists in the Gaza settlements and the West Bank.
He said that while the council does not advocate violent resistance, it might be hard to prevent.
”We greatly fear this. We warned that this might happen,” he said.
Three of Sharon’s Likud Cabinet ministers voted in favour of a referendum, including his arch-rival, Binyamin Netanyahu, reflecting the depth of the split inside the ruling party.
There is also unusual public tension between Sharon and the United States over Israel’s plan to expand some West Bank settlements, compounded by a disputed account of what the American ambassador to Israeli said to foreign ministry trainees.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice initially took a strong line against plans to build 3 500 homes to link Maale Adumim settlement with Jerusalem, a move that undermines Palestinian claims to the eastern part of the city as their capital.
Israel has long promised Washington it will freeze settlement construction.
”It’s concerning that this is where it is, and around Jerusalem,” Rice told The Los Angeles Times last week. ”We will continue to note that this is at odds with … American policy. So, full stop.”
But at the weekend, Rice sought to placate the Israelis amid uproar over a Tel Aviv newspaper report that the US ambassador, Dan Kurtzer, had said there was no understanding between Israel and the US on keeping large Jewish settlements under Israeli sovereignty.
A year ago, US President George Bush wrote to Sharon, committing the US to recognising the major Jewish colonies in the West Bank as part of Israel.
Kurtzer denied questioning Bush’s commitment but the political fallout forced Rice to publicly reiterate the president’s position. — Guardian Unlimited Â