Israel: Sharon Loses ‘Vote of Confidence’

A majority of 193,000 registered members of the Likud Party who voted in Sunday’s referendum said ‘No’. According to preliminary results that were available last night at 10:00 p.m. Turkish time, 60 percent of the members had rejected the plan. According to the exit polls conducted by three Israeli television stations, those who said ‘No’ were leading by 12-18 points.

Sharon, who had previously said that the plan would be a vote of confidence for him, said that he is not considering resignation at this stage. Reportedly, Sharon still has other options, such as presenting the plan to the Knesset. In any case, nearly everyone agrees that this was a crushing defeat for the Sharon government.

Settlers who objected to the plan, which called for withdrawing from 21 settlements in the Gaza Strip and 4 in the West Bank, campaigned hard for rejection of the Plan. Sharon on the other hand, sought support up until the last minute; however, he refused to give any definite answers to questions asking if he would resign if he lost the referendum.

Even though Israel occupies 15 percent of the Gaza Strip, only 7,500 Israelis live there compared to 1.3 million Palestinians. The Sharon plan envisaged a complete withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, while at the same time keeping the Israeli settlements in the West Bank and continuing the construction of the ‘Security Wall’.