 |
 |
 |
|
|
Sharon and Peres confer in the Knesset (AP)
|
|
|
|
|
|
| By Israel Insider staff and partners March 28, 2005 |
|
| |
 |
| AP |
| |
Israel's parliament on Monday voted against holding a national referendum on a Gaza withdrawal, dealing a body blow to opponents of the pullout. Legislators voted 72-39 against the referendum bill.
Several Likud ministers -- Binyamin Netanyahu, Limor Livnat, Tzachi Hanegbi, Dani Naveh and Yisrael Katz -- voted for the bill, while most of the religious Shas party voted against and others abstained, after waiting till the last minute to decide.
Minister Ehud Olmert, Deputy Prime Minister and mouthpiece for PM Sharon, said he hoped the vote conveys a message to the Israeli people, the Palestinians, and the world. "Israel is moving toward a historic plan," he said. "Let's hope the Palestinians cooperate."
Meanwhile, Likud "rebel" Michael Ratzon -- an opponent of the expulsion plan, bitter accused the Sephardi religious party for the proposal's lopsided defeat. "Shas fooled us, hampered the vote, and never intended to support (the bill)," he said. "Everything was intended to deepen disagreements within the Likud."
Most Shas members voted against the bill, but some of them were absent during the vote.
Minister Meir Sheetrit, a Sharon loyalist, said Shas spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef had instructed party members to vote against the referendum proposal because he is a "wise man."
|
|
 
|
|
|
|
Click on the blue headline to read a Talkback comment and respond to it. Click on the  icon to send a private email to the talkback writer. The icon appears only if the writer has decided to be contacted. If no popup window appears, please make sure your popup blocker allows israelinsider.com.
|
|
| |
|
|
