Sharon forges on after Gaza vote

Thousands marched in Jerusalem in support of the withdrawal plan

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is struggling to hold his cabinet together after it backed a compromise plan for a phased pullout from Gaza.

The pro-settler National Religious Party is threatening to quit the coalition - so Mr Sharon could be left with only 55 seats in the Knesset.

However he easily won two no-confidence votes in the 120-seat parliament.

Cabinet voted in principle to dismantle Gaza settlements, but postponed a vote on implementation until next year.

Despite the political turmoil caused by the run-up to the cabinet vote, Mr Sharon defeated the no-confidence motions by 46-to-31 votes and 42-to-31 votes.

The main opposition Labour party, which supports the withdrawal, abstained from voting.

On Sunday, cabinet voted 14 to seven to endorse the plan for a phased withdrawal - but fresh votes will be needed at each stage before Gaza settlements are removed, and the process will not begin until March 2005.

Pull-out from all 21 settlements in Gaza and 4 in West Bank Preparation period due to end by March 2005 Four-stage evacuation to be completed by end of 2005 Each stage requires cabinet vote Press cautious on Gaza plan

Egyptian role

The Israeli Foreign Minister, Silvan Shalom, is holding talks with Egyptian officials in Cairo on the disengagement plan.

He said he was happy that Egypt was willing to play a key role in helping to ensure security in Gaza after an Israeli withdrawal.

He is due to meet Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak later on Monday.

Israel wants Egypt to secure the key Philadelphi Route on the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt - an area that has seen fierce clashes recently between Israeli troops and Palestinian militants.

The BBC's Heba Saleh, reporting from Cairo, says Egypt is also anxious to prevent chaos in Gaza - a stronghold of Hamas militants - which could spill over the border.

After Sunday's vote, Mr Sharon said disengagement had begun and would be completed by the end of 2005.

The US administration welcomed the move, describing it as "a courageous and historic step".

But the BBC's Barbara Plett in Jerusalem says the revised plan has deferred a political crisis without resolving it.

Fragile coalition

Ministers were bitterly divided over the plan.

Polls suggest most Israelis support Sharon's plans for Gaza

Mr Sharon sacked two pro-settler opponents of it - Tourism Minister Benny Elon and Transport Minister Avigdor Lieberman - on Friday.

Opponents of the plan in Mr Sharon's Likud party have threatened to withhold their support for him in key votes, such as no-confidence motions, Israel's Haaretz newspaper reports.

Former Prime Minister Shimon Peres, who leads the opposition Labour Party, told the BBC his party would not join the ruling coalition - but at the same time he did not want the Sharon government to fall.

He said the Gaza plan "has a double language and we don't like it".

Watered down

Mr Sharon's plan initially envisaged the withdrawal of all Israeli forces and settlements from the Gaza Strip - and the dismantling of a small number of settlements in the West Bank - in one step.

It implicitly recognised that Israel would retain large parts of the West Bank - and some Palestinian refugees and their descendants who lost their homes when Israel was created would lose the right to return.

This plan was backed by US President George W Bush, and has popular Israeli support, but was rejected by members of Mr Sharon's own Likud party on 2 May.

Ministers have now voted to remove all 21 settlements in the Gaza Strip and four more in the West Bank in four stages to be completed by the end of 2005.

But each step would have to be voted on in advance and no announcement will be made on the evacuation of specific settlements until March 2005.

In the interim, a government commission will be established to plan for the eventual pull-out.

After the vote, Mr Sharon said: "The government decided today that by the end of 2005, Israel will leave Gaza and four settlements in the West Bank."

But there is no guarantee it will happen, our correspondent in Jerusalem says.

Palestinian negotiations minister Saeb Erekat voiced frustration with the vote, saying: "I do not see why the Israeli government has decided to delay the implementation until next March".

Opinion polls show the Israeli public largely endorses the plan to withdraw from Gaza.

Thousands of people marched in Jerusalem on Saturday evening to voice support for the pull-out plan.