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Opposition mounts over Israeli withdrawal plan

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.
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