Prime Minister Ariel Sharon yesterday warned that "tough decisions" lie ahead after his Likud Party rejected his plan to withdraw from the Gaza Strip.
Speaking to Likud lawmakers, Sharon said he accepted the results of the party referendum, but hinted that he would press forward with the proposal. Likud voters rejected his plan by a 60 to 40 margin in Sunday's referendum.
PHOTO: REUTERS
"It seems to me that it is going to be a very interesting sitting, a sitting during which we shall have make some tough decisions in the party caucus and in the parliament which will impact on the futures of us all," he said.
He repeated a pledge made on Sunday to consult with Likud ministers and lawmakers, as well as other political parties, to discuss how to move forward.
"I want to emphasize that the people of Israel chose us to find the way to quiet, security and peace and to improve the economy of Israel," Sharon said. "I intend to do that. There is no other reason for us to be here in the Knesset."
Sharon did not say explicitly whether he would continue with his "unilateral disengagement" plan, which calls for a withdrawal from all 21 Gaza settlements and uprooting four settlements in the West Bank.
But allies suggested after Sunday's vote he would look for ways to get around the Likud's veto. The referendum was not legally binding.
Meanwhile, Israeli Vice Premier Ehud Olmert said Sharon's plan is "unstoppable" despite being resoundingly rejected by his own right-wing party.
Buoyed by Sunday's referendum defeat of Sharon's plan, Jewish settlers in Gaza poured concrete yesterday for a new neighborhood while ultra-nationalist Jews moved into an Arab district of Jerusalem.
But Sharon's allies said that while the referendum was a humiliating reverse, the prime minister would not retreat since his plan for "disengagement" from conflict with Palestinians was supported by most Israelis -- as shown in numerous polls.
The White House also reaffirmed its backing for the landmark plan as Sharon vowed not to resign.
"There is no doubt disengagement is inevitable and unstoppable," Olmert said of the blueprint to end Israel's 37-year-old occupation of Gaza while keeping parts of the larger West Bank.
"In the end it will happen because the alternative is more murder, terrorism and attacks without us having any wise answer for what 7,500 Jewish [settlers] are doing among 1.2 million Palestinians [in Gaza]," Olmert told Israel Radio.
Rainfall is expected to become more widespread and persistent across central and southern Taiwan over the next few days, with the effects of the weather patterns becoming most prominent between last night and tomorrow, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Independent meteorologist Daniel Wu (吳德榮) said that based on the latest forecast models of the combination of a low-pressure system and southwesterly winds, rainfall and flooding are expected to continue in central and southern Taiwan from today to Sunday. The CWA also warned of flash floods, thunder and lightning, and strong gusts in these areas, as well as landslides and fallen
WAITING GAME: The US has so far only offered a ‘best rate tariff,’ which officials assume is about 15 percent, the same as Japan, a person familiar with the matter said Taiwan and the US have completed “technical consultations” regarding tariffs and a finalized rate is expected to be released soon, Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) told a news conference yesterday, as a 90-day pause on US President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs is set to expire today. The two countries have reached a “certain degree of consensus” on issues such as tariffs, nontariff trade barriers, trade facilitation, supply chain resilience and economic security, Lee said. They also discussed opportunities for cooperation, investment and procurement, she said. A joint statement is still being negotiated and would be released once the US government has made
SOUTH CHINA SEA? The Philippine president spoke of adding more classrooms and power plants, while skipping tensions with China over disputed areas Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr yesterday blasted “useless and crumbling” flood control projects in a state of the nation address that focused on domestic issues after a months-long feud with his vice president. Addressing a joint session of congress after days of rain that left at least 31 dead, Marcos repeated his recent warning that the nation faced a climate change-driven “new normal,” while pledging to investigate publicly funded projects that had failed. “Let’s not pretend, the people know that these projects can breed corruption. Kickbacks ... for the boys,” he said, citing houses that were “swept away” by the floods. “Someone has
‘CRUDE’: The potential countermeasure is in response to South Africa renaming Taiwan’s representative offices and the insistence that it move out of Pretoria Taiwan is considering banning exports of semiconductors to South Africa after the latter unilaterally downgraded and changed the names of Taiwan’s two representative offices, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday. On Monday last week, the South African Department of International Relations and Cooperation unilaterally released a statement saying that, as of April 1, the Taipei Liaison Offices in Pretoria and Cape Town had been renamed the “Taipei Commercial Office in Johannesburg” and the “Taipei Commercial Office in Cape Town.” Citing UN General Assembly Resolution 2758, it said that South Africa “recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the sole
RSS