--- SEARCH ---
WEATHER
CHINA
INTERNATIONAL
BUSINESS
CULTURE
GOVERNMENT
SCI-TECH
ENVIRONMENT
SPORTS
LIFE
PEOPLE
TRAVEL
WEEKLY REVIEW
Film in China
War on Poverty
Learning Chinese
Learn to Cook Chinese Dishes
Exchange Rates
Hotel Service
China Calendar
Telephone and
Postal Codes


Hot Links
China Development Gateway
Chinese Embassies

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Permanent Mission of the People's Republic of China to the UN
Permanent Mission of the People's Republic of China to the United Nations Office at Geneva and other International Organizations in Switzerland
Foreign Affairs College
Israeli Cabinet Rejects Pullout Delay

Israel's cabinet yesterday rejected a proposal to delay the start of a Gaza pullout for three months, setting the stage for a showdown between Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and his main political rival Benjamin Netanyahu.

The attempt to force Sharon to postpone the withdrawal slated to begin in mid-August was a sharp reminder of the opposition he faces in his right-wing Likud party to the plan he has championed and a sign of internal leadership battles ahead.

The cabinet voted 18-3 against Likud Agriculture Minister Yisrael Katz's proposed three-month delay. Netanyahu, a former prime minister who now holds the finance portfolio, supported Katz, who said more time was needed to complete pullout preparations.

Sharon, with backing from his main coalition partner, Shimon Peres's Labour Party, had been widely expected to beat back Katz's proposal before a parliamentary vote on the issue on Wednesday that seems certain to go the Israeli leader's way.

"Any delay is dangerous," a government official quoted Sharon as telling the cabinet against the backdrop of violence over the past week between Jewish ultra-nationalists and soldiers who ejected them from a Gaza stronghold.

Ahead of the Knesset vote, a face-off was shaping up between Sharon and Netanyahu, his strongest Likud rival, who an aide said intends to show his disapproval of an August pullout by staying away from Wednesday's legislative session.

Sharon has signaled he could take Netanyahu's absence as tantamount to voting in parliament against the government, grounds in Israel for firing a cabinet member. But while flexing his muscles, Sharon would divide the Likud more deeply.

Political commentator Yossi Verter, writing in the Haaretz newspaper, said sacking Netanyahu would also deal "a major shock" to the Israeli economy and stock market.

"If the crisis was planned, then Sharon is striving to split the Likud and form a new political framework," Verter wrote. "There can be no other explanation for such a dramatic dismissal of Netanyahu, whom even Sharon describes as an excellent finance minister."

Meanwhile, three East Jerusalem neighborhoods filed a petition to the Israeli High Court of Justice against the separation fence yesterday, saying the fence being built in East Jerusalem could leave them outside the wall, local press said.

The petition was submitted by Ir Amim, a non-partisan and non- governmental organization specialized in protecting Palestinians' human rights in Jerusalem. The neighborhood's residents are mostly Arabs and they wish to remain part of Jerusalem.

(China Daily July 4, 2005)

 

Hizbollah Kills Israeli Soldier in Clash
Israel Suspends Construction of 50 Settlements in W. Bank
G8 Urges Smooth Gaza Pullout, Quartet Urges Cooperation
Militants Fire at Building While Qurei Speaks
Sharon-Abbas Summit Enhances Ties on Gaza Pullout
Rice: Israel, Palestinians to Remove Gaza Homes
Israeli Court Quashes Challenge to Pullout
Print This Page
|
Email This Page
About Us SiteMap Feedback
Copyright © China Internet Information Center. All Rights Reserved
E-mail: webmaster@china.org.cn Tel: 86-10-68326688