Sharon Presents Withdrawal Plan

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon launched a parliamentary debate Monday on his plan to withdraw from the Gaza Strip and part of the West Bank, while Israeli troops raided a Gaza Strip refugee camp to halt Palestinian mortar fire, killing 14 Palestinians and wounding 72.

Sharon told Israel's Knesset, or parliament, he was determined to press ahead with his plan despite the difficulties it will cause for the country. In a speech repeatedly interrupted by heckling from both hardline and dovish opponents of his plan, Sharon appealed to lawmakers to support his "unilateral disengagement" plan in Tuesday's scheduled vote so Israelis could live in peace.

"I know what the consequences are for thousands of Israelis who have lived for many years in Gaza, and were sent there by Israeli governments, and had children there, who didn't know another home," he said. "I know. I sent them. I was a participant, and many are my personal friends. I am aware of their pain, their anger, their despair.

"We have to do this, despite all the suffering involved," he said. "This will decrease hostility, and will lead us forward on the path to peace with the Palestinians."

"We don't want to remain in control of a population of Palestinians who are rapidly multiplying," Sharon said.

Haaretz newspaper reports that, after the Knesset vote Tuesday, Sharon will try to set up a unity government with two parties more liberal than his Likud. If that coalition with Labor and Shinui fails, associates told the paper, Sharon will call new elections.

The National Religious Party is almost certain to leave Sharon's government after the vote, say the associates, leaving Sharon with only 55 members of the parliament in his coalition — and some of them are members of his own party in open rebellion now over the withdrawal plan.

In fact, NRP chairman Efi Eitam was ejected from the Knesset Monday for repeated disturbances during the debate. Other opponents were removed from the chamber, too, including the entire Shas party delegation while Labor Party leader Shimon Peres was speaking.

Sharon's aides said he was counting on a comfortable victory. However, nearly half of the 40 legislators in Sharon's Likud Party were to vote "no," making it increasingly difficult for Sharon to govern. Immediately after the vote, Sharon was to renew efforts to stabilize his coalition by bringing in the moderate Labor Party, the Haaretz daily quoted his aides as saying.

Each of the 120 members will be given five minutes to speak during the debate.

The two-day Knesset debate on the future of Gaza is important because it will determine whether Sharon goes ahead with the pullout right away or gives in to calls by withdrawal opponents for a national referendum that would significantly delay the plan. A vote on the plan is expected Tuesday.

Sharon hopes the parliament will overwhelmingly approve his plan to blunt hard-line demands for a referendum. Sharon dismisses those demands as a ploy to distract the government and delay implementation of the plan.

"The disengagement plan does not come in place of negotiations," Sharon told the parliament. "It is a necessary step during a period in which negotiations are not possible. All is open when terror — this murderous terror — stops."

On Sunday, Israel's Cabinet voted 13-6 for a key element of Sharon's plan, a bill detailing compensation of up to $350,000 for the 8,800 settlers in Gaza and four West Bank communities who would be removed from their homes.

Sharon hopes settlers will accept cash advances — which could total up to one-third of the final compensation payout — to leave well ahead of the official evacuation, heading off confrontations between settlers and troops.

Violence in Gaza has increased in the months since Sharon announced his plan, with Palestinian militants trying to prove they are forcing Israel out, and Israel trying to crush the militants to show it is not withdrawing under fire.

Early Monday, scores of Israeli armored vehicles moved into the Khan Younis refugee camp in southern Gaza in an operation the army said was sparked by recent mortar attacks on nearby Israeli settlements.

The raid, punctuated by repeated airstrikes and the firing of tank shells, killed 14 Palestinians and wounded 72, doctors said. The dead included three members of the Palestinian security forces, two gunmen and an 11-year-old boy.