Nazir Majally, Asharq Al-Awsat

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, 5 February 2004— Facing a revolt in his coalition government over his plans to evacuate all Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon yesterday said he was ready for a referendum on the issue.

Sharon’s plans to remove the settlements in the Gaza Strip has enraged settlers and their rightist patrons in the coalition. But polls show most Israelis favor scrapping Jewish enclaves exposed to a Palestinian uprising, both in Gaza and the West Bank, where Sharon plans to leave most settlements alone.

“If they want a referendum, it’s a good idea,” Sharon was quoted by his spokesman Raanan Gissin as saying when told two deputies of his Likud party would next week submit legislation authorizing a referendum.

Sharon’s readiness to go for a plebiscite indicates he is confident that he has the majority support of the Israeli people. Fifty-nine percent of Israelis backed a pullout from Gaza in a new poll.

Gissin said Sharon had other options in the event his ultra-nationalist allies tried to bring down his government over his stunning reversal of Israel’s decades-old settlement building drive on land captured in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.

“He can continue with this government (or) if at any time some members walk out, he can add other (partners),” Gissin said.

The opposition Labour Party has endorsed Sharon’s Gaza plan and was his main partner in a previous coalition.

On Tuesday, Labour leader Shimon Peres promised to help Sharon survive any revolt by coalition allies. “We are prepared to support the government even without being in it, as long as it is on the path to peace,” Peres, 80, said after his party voted to keep him as chairman through 2005.

Gissin said Sharon could also call early elections.

Commentators see that as unlikely since his term does not expire until 2007 and Labour is seen as amenable to rejoining Sharon in a “national unity” government if he went ahead with settlement evacuation. Labour sees uprooting of settlements as the key to peace with the Palestinians.