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Sharon appears perturbed as his aides brief him about his broken microphone. (AP)
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Two ships: Sharon passing Netanyahu at Sunday meeting of the Likud central committee (AP)
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| By Israel Insider staff and partners September 26, 2005 |
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| Sharon tries without success to address the Likud central committee without a microphone. He soon gave up and left the room. (AP) |
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Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon walked out of a stormy meeting of his Likud party Sunday without delivering his prepared speech after what appeared to be intentional electricity cuts repeatedly prevented him from speaking.
Sharon had planned to address the 3,000 members of the party's central committee to beat back a challenge to his leadership of the party from former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who accused him betraying the Likud by pulling out of the Gaza Strip.
The convention came ahead of a Likud vote Monday on whether to move up the party primaries. Netanyahu wants them in November and Sharon in April. Both have turned the dispute into a matter of principle, with Sharon hinting he might quit the party if defeated in Monday's vote.
Sharon, the final speaker of the night, walked to the podium to make his argument and found the microphone did not work. He sat down for several minutes and then walked back to the podium. He spoke a few words and then the microphone disconnected again. After waiting for several minutes, Sharon walked out of the hall.
Unconfirmed reports initially suggested that Likud members expelled from their homes in Gush Katif poured water into the sound system, preventing Prime Minister Ariel Sharon from addressing the Central Committee. However, a preliminary police check indicated that no sabotage was immediately apparently.
"You destroyed our homes and our lives -- and we will therefore not allow you to speak," said an anonymous message delivered to reporters.
Israel Radio read what it said was a copy of Sharon's speech, where he characterized Monday's vote as "an attempt to throw me out."
"We will decide if the Likud will be the center of political game or will be pushed to the fringes," the speech said.
Israel TV's Channel One quoted a Likud spokesman, Shmulik Dahan, as saying someone had intentionally cut the power.
"I think that the conclusion is that we have a great problem with our culture of speech and culture of listening," Deputy Defense Minister Zeev Boim, a Likud leader, told Army Radio.
In his speech earlier Sunday, Netanyahu said Sharon betrayed the party by making one-sided concessions to the Palestinians.
To the cheers of his supporters, Netanyahu said the vote would determine the future of Likud: "We need a decision now. We need to end the debate now."
Without ever mentioning Sharon by name, Netanyahu said: "Someone is threatening to leave us. Nobody threatens us. ... If someone wants to split, they better split now."
In the event he leaves Likud, Sharon is widely expected to form a centrist party to compete in the next election.
In his speech, Netanyahu accused Sharon of breaking promises to the voters and to Likud members by pulling out of Gaza and dismantling all 21 settlements there, as part of his plan to "disengage" from the Palestinians. Netanyahu said the pullout has endangered Israel, without giving Israel anything in return.
"They are telling us they will continue with painful concessions," Netanyahu said, again not referring to Sharon. "Don't we have enough with the Hamas state in Gaza? ... We will all be in danger."
The AP contributed to this report.
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