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Sharon's Gaza withdrawal plan passes in parliament

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon angrily dismissed a new rebellion in his Likud Party on Wednesday, saying he won't cave in to rivals' threats over his plan to withdraw from the Gaza Strip.

Also Wednesday, some 40 Israeli tanks and armored vehicles moved into the West Bank refugee camp of Jenin, exchanging fire with Palestinian militants, witnesses said. There were no initial reports of injuries.

Military officials said the raid was intended to root out Palestinian militants in the camp and was expected to last a number of days. Israel has frequently raided West Bank towns and refugee camps during the last four years of fighting.

Bolstered by a parliamentary vote Tuesday, Sharon said he would stand firm against the rebels, who include his top rival, Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and pledged to pull out of Gaza and parts of the West Bank on schedule next summer.

"I know that many problems await us along the way. The disengagement will be carried out," Sharon told the Yediot Ahronot daily. "I am meeting the timetable that I have determined." In Tuesday's historic vote, parliament for the first time approved the dismantling of Jewish settlements in lands Israel occupied in the 1967 Mideast war and which are claimed by the Palestinians for a state.

After four years of fighting with the Palestinians, Sharon says his "disengagement" plan will improve security and ensure the country's identity as a Jewish democracy. However, he also intends to keep large West Bank settlements and east Jerusalem, areas the Palestinians also seek for their state.

US Secretary of State Colin Powell called Sharon Wednesday to congratulate him on the Knesset's approval of withdrawal.

A senior US official said Powell called the parliament's action a step forward on President George W. Bush's vision of a Palestinian state living side by side in peace with Israel.

Sharon won by a comfortable 67-45 margin, with seven legislators abstaining. But nearly half the Likud legislators and two religious parties voted against him, underscoring Sharon's break with his former hardline allies.

Sharon had little time to savor the victory. Just before the vote, the National Religious Party, a key partner in the coalition government, said it would quit within two weeks unless Sharon pledges to hold a nationwide referendum.

Four Likud ministers -- Netanyahu, Limor Livnat, Yisrael Katz and Danny Naveh -- voted for the plan and then immediately demanded Sharon accept the NRP ultimatum or they would resign from the government.

Proponents of the referendum claim a nationwide vote would give Sharon's proposal legitimacy. They say that Sharon betrayed his traditional supporters by suddenly announcing the plan early this year after decades of support for building settlements in occupied territories.

"We are acting according to our consciences," Netanyahu told Is-rael Radio. "We think the decision to go forward and to tear to shreds the people, the coalition and the Likud is a mistaken decision."

The turmoil raised new doubts about his ability to go ahead with the planned withdrawals. The resignations of senior Likud ministers could cause the government to crumble, forcing Sharon to call new elections, or delay implementation.

Sharon said he would not be swayed. While opinion polls show a solid majority of Israelis support him, he dismisses the referendum as a stalling tactic.
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