Israel’s Finance Minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, resigned from the government on Sunday, claiming its plan to withdraw from settlements in the occupied territories would allow the creation of a base for ”Islamic terrorism”.
In what is widely seen as a prelude to a challenge to the leadership of the prime minister, Ariel Sharon, Netanyahu submitted his letter of resignation as the Cabinet met to rubber stamp the first phase of the evacuation of settlements in Gaza.
”I am not prepared to be a partner to a move which ignores reality, and proceeds blindly toward turning the Gaza Strip into a base for Islamic terrorism which will threaten the state,” he wrote.
Netanyahu then voted against the proposal to pull out of the settlements of Morag, Netzarim and Kefar Doron next week, which was carried by 17 votes to five.
The withdrawal from these settlements is the first phase in Sharon’s plan to return the entire Gaza Strip to the Palestinian Authority. Analysts say the resignation is unlikely to have any effect on this disengagement, but will increase political instability.
The rivalry between Sharon and Netanyahu is intense and his resignation or dismissal was always a possibility.
Netanyahu, who was prime minister between 1996 and 1999, was defeated by Sharon in a vote to lead the Likud party in 2002.
He has introduced free-market reforms, which have pleased the financial markets but increased poverty.
Analysts believe that by staying in the Cabinet until now, Netanyahu has ensured that Israel will withdraw from the settlements, and by resigning can claim he opposed the plan if it backfires in the future.
They point out that he was careful to frame his rejection of the withdrawal in an ambiguous way, attacking its unilateral nature rather than the plan itself. ”There is a way to achieve peace and security, but a unilateral withdrawal under fire and with nothing in return is certainly not the way,” he wrote.
He called the disengagement ”an irresponsible step which will endanger Israel’s security, split the people, institute the principle of return to the 1967 borders, and in the future, endanger Jerusalem as well.”
In Israel, Netanyahu, with his US education and fluent English, is seen as an articulate advocate of Israel’s interests in the international arena, but polls suggest voters do not trust him. Before the Cabinet meeting, Shaul Mofaz, the defence minister, attacked Netanyahu for his inconsistency on disengagement.
”You cannot dither in the wind every morning anew and say ‘My opinion’s changed and now it’s different’,” he said.
A spokesperson for Yesha, the settlers council, described Netanyahu’s resignation as ”commendable”, but other prominent rightwing members saw it as opportunistic.
Israel Harel, a founder of the settler movement, said Netanyahu’s resignation was too late to assist the anti-disengagement camp.
”This is not the act of a real leader. If he wanted to bring about change he had to resign a long time ago,” he said.
Sharon has appointed his deputy, Ehud Olmert, as finance minister. – Guardian Unlimited Â