Israel parliament rejects Gaza Strip pullout delay

JERUSALEM – Israel’s parliament yesterday rejected bills to delay a withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, defeating a late attempt by opponents of the plan to have it postponed before evacuations start next month.

The Knesset voted overwhelmingly against bills calling for delays of between three months and one year. Ultra-right parliamentarians introduced the bills in a bid to delay the pullout, due to begin in mid-August.They argued that settlers had not had enough time to prepare and that Israel should not leave Gaza while Palestinian attacks continue.Opponents also hope to buy time to derail the plan for “disengagement” from conflict with the Palestinians.Under Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s plan, Israel will for the first time remove settlements from land that Palestinians want for a state.Some 9 000 settlers are to be removed from 21 Gaza settlements and four of the 120 in the West Bank.Most Israelis support the withdrawal, but opponents say it means abandoning a biblical birthright and rewarding Palestinian attacks.Palestinians welcome a withdrawal from any land, but point to the fact that Israel is strengthening its hold on settlements in the West Bank where they also want a state.The plan has split Sharon’s right-wing Likud party.Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has backed away from his original support for the withdrawal, was absent from the parliamentary vote.He voted in favour of a delay in a cabinet meeting earlier in the month, but would automatically have lost his job under cabinet discipline imposed by Sharon if he had voted in favour of the postponement bill yesterday.- Nampa-ReutersUltra-right parliamentarians introduced the bills in a bid to delay the pullout, due to begin in mid-August.They argued that settlers had not had enough time to prepare and that Israel should not leave Gaza while Palestinian attacks continue.Opponents also hope to buy time to derail the plan for “disengagement” from conflict with the Palestinians.Under Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s plan, Israel will for the first time remove settlements from land that Palestinians want for a state.Some 9 000 settlers are to be removed from 21 Gaza settlements and four of the 120 in the West Bank.Most Israelis support the withdrawal, but opponents say it means abandoning a biblical birthright and rewarding Palestinian attacks.Palestinians welcome a withdrawal from any land, but point to the fact that Israel is strengthening its hold on settlements in the West Bank where they also want a state.The plan has split Sharon’s right-wing Likud party.Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has backed away from his original support for the withdrawal, was absent from the parliamentary vote.He voted in favour of a delay in a cabinet meeting earlier in the month, but would automatically have lost his job under cabinet discipline imposed by Sharon if he had voted in favour of the postponement bill yesterday. – Nampa-Reuters