Ariel Sharon

Sharon's last-minute compromise with rebellious hard-line ministers watered down his four-stage "disengagement" proposal enough to win his Cabinet's support in principle, possibly staving off the collapse of his coalition government.

But by mandating future Cabinet votes for each phase of the pullout, it leaves the fate of Gaza's 21 settlements and four in the West Bank -- slated for evacuation by the end of 2005 -- mired in uncertainty.

Since the first Israeli settlements were established in 1968, a year after Israel captured the West Bank and Gaza in the 1967 Mideast War, no Israeli government had ordered the removal of authorized settlements there before, though some illegal outposts have been taken down.

The plan, billed by Sharon as a unilateral effort to "disengage" from conflict with Palestinians, declared Israel's intent to keep a permanent hold on swaths of West Bank land where most of its 240,000 settlers live in 120 enclaves.

The Japan Times Weekly: June 12, 2004
(C) All rights reserved