Opponents of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's plan for a pullout from the Gaza Strip and part of the West Bank made last-ditch efforts yesterday to rally support for a vote that could halt the withdrawal.
The Israeli parliament was set to vote yesterday on calling a national referendum over the withdrawal plan, a ploy Sharon says is intended to delay or scuttle the evacuation.
But the parliament yesterday overwhelmingly rejected (72-39) Sharon's plan to withdraw, thwarting a maneuver by rightists opposed to ceding any occupied land.
Also yesterday, the military lifted a ban on Palestinians from entering Israel, imposed tomorrow for the Jewish holiday of Purim. Such closures are routine security measures.
Uzi Landau, the leader of a group of rebels within Sharon's own Likud Party, was meeting yesterday with the spiritual leader of the ultra-Orthodox Shas Party in a bid to get the rabbi, Ovadia Yosef, to throw 11 party votes behind the referendum.
The proposed dismantling of all 21 Gaza settlements and four in the West Bank has splintered Sharon's Likud Party, a bastion of settlement backers taken by surprise by Sharon's sudden turnabout at the beginning of last year.
Sharon himself was the main sponsor of settlement construction before presenting his pullout plan, explaining it would help Israel hang on to parts of the West Bank.
That issue remained in the spotlight on Sunday. Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas criticized Israel and indirectly the US over a restatement of US support for Israel's retaining main settlements in the West Bank in a final peace deal.
``Any talk of settlements that is not a discussion of stopping them is unacceptable,'' Abbas said. ``Here I'm talking about the discussions of annexing settlement blocs.'' The Palestinians claim all of the West Bank, with east Jerusalem as capital.
The issue resurfaced over the weekend with a leaked Foreign Ministry document that quoted US Ambassador Dan Kurtzer as saying the US did not support Israel's keeping West Bank settlements.
The document was leaked after Israel revived plans to expand the largest one, Maaleh Adumim, next to Jerusalem. Sharon told his Cabinet that while Washington backs Israel's holding on to settlement blocs, it still opposes construction in settlements.
The settlement issue has been a major sticking point in attempts to implement the stalled US-backed ``road map'' peace plan, which also has the support of the European Union, UN and Russia.
The initial stage requires Israel to halt all settlement construction and remove dozens of unauthorized outposts from the West Bank, while the Palestinians dismantle violent groups. Neither side has carried out those steps. With a truce holding for six weeks, there are hopes peace efforts can resume.
LANDMARK CASE: ‘Every night we were dragged to US soldiers and sexually abused. Every week we were forced to undergo venereal disease tests,’ a victim said More than 100 South Korean women who were forced to work as prostitutes for US soldiers stationed in the country have filed a landmark lawsuit accusing Washington of abuse, their lawyers said yesterday. Historians and activists say tens of thousands of South Korean women worked for state-sanctioned brothels from the 1950s to 1980s, serving US troops stationed in country to protect the South from North Korea. In 2022, South Korea’s top court ruled that the government had illegally “established, managed and operated” such brothels for the US military, ordering it to pay about 120 plaintiffs compensation. Last week, 117 victims
China on Monday announced its first ever sanctions against an individual Japanese lawmaker, targeting China-born Hei Seki for “spreading fallacies” on issues such as Taiwan, Hong Kong and disputed islands, prompting a protest from Tokyo. Beijing has an ongoing spat with Tokyo over islands in the East China Sea claimed by both countries, and considers foreign criticism on sensitive political topics to be acts of interference. Seki, a naturalised Japanese citizen, “spread false information, colluded with Japanese anti-China forces, and wantonly attacked and smeared China”, foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian told reporters on Monday. “For his own selfish interests, (Seki)
Argentine President Javier Milei on Sunday vowed to “accelerate” his libertarian reforms after a crushing defeat in Buenos Aires provincial elections. The 54-year-old economist has slashed public spending, dismissed tens of thousands of public employees and led a major deregulation drive since taking office in December 2023. He acknowledged his party’s “clear defeat” by the center-left Peronist movement in the elections to the legislature of Buenos Aires province, the country’s economic powerhouse. A deflated-sounding Milei admitted to unspecified “mistakes” which he vowed to “correct,” but said he would not be swayed “one millimeter” from his reform agenda. “We will deepen and accelerate it,” he
Japan yesterday heralded the coming-of-age of Japanese Prince Hisahito with an elaborate ceremony at the Imperial Palace, where a succession crisis is brewing. The nephew of Japanese Emperor Naruhito, Hisahito received a black silk-and-lacquer crown at the ceremony, which marks the beginning of his royal adult life. “Thank you very much for bestowing the crown today at the coming-of-age ceremony,” Hisahito said. “I will fulfill my duties, being aware of my responsibilities as an adult member of the imperial family.” Although the emperor has a daughter — Princess Aiko — the 23-year-old has been sidelined by the royal family’s male-only
RSS