Sharon faces crisis following firings

JERUSALEM -- Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon faced a political crisis that threatened the stability of his coalition yesterday after he fired two right-wing ministers in order to get his plan to withdraw from the Gaza Strip and evacuate at least 20 settlements approved in his Cabinet.

The dismissals followed a week of rebelliousness in Sharon's own Likud party and a failed bid to compromise on terms of the Gaza pullout. Representatives of another faction in the coalition, the National Religious Party, are threatening to quit if the plan goes ahead.

Tourism Minister Benny Elon and Transportation Minister Avigdor Lieberman, both of the National Union Party, had said they would oppose the Gaza plan when it comes up for a vote in the Cabinet, possibly tomorrow.

Sharon summoned the two to a meeting yesterday morning, intending to dismiss them in person. When they failed to appear, he sent out notices through an emissary, officials said.

The dismissals go into affect 48 hours from the time they are issued. But Elon told state-run Israel Radio he was dodging the emissary so that he could still participate in the Sunday meeting. The hitch could force Sharon to put off the vote by a day.

Though the Israeli leader now expects to muster a slim majority for the plan in his Cabinet, the National Union's departure leaves him with a significantly smaller majority in Parliament -- 61-59 compared with 68-52. Fractures in his own party -- at least one-third of the legislators from Likud oppose the pullout -- serve to further complicate Sharon's situation.

"He's now heading into a very unstable political situation," said Yossi Olmert, a political analyst and a member of Likud. "He's gone against the will of his party, and that usually spells the end. You need the backing of a party to lead the country."

The political shakiness is relatively new to Sharon. The center-right government he has presided over since February of last year had been one of Israel's most stable in years.

But an initiative he introduced four months ago to unilaterally dismantle all the settlements in Gaza and at least three in the West Bank has exposed fault lines between the pragmatists and the hard-liners.

Sharon says the withdrawal would allow Israel to disengage from the Palestinians, realign itself militarily, and improve its economy. He has discussed the initiative with American and Arab leaders but not with Palestinians.

In a vote held last month among Likud rank-and-file members, about 60 percent opposed the withdrawal. While the referendum was nonbinding, party principals do not want be seen as defying the will of Likud voters.

Sharon and his proxies spent much of the week trying to coax several key Likud Cabinet ministers, including Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, to support an amended version of the plan, which staggers the evacuation of settlements rather than dismantling them all at once.

Talks on a bridging proposal collapsed late Thursday, prompting Sharon's decision to fire Lieberman and Elon. Lieberman, speaking to Israel Radio, described the move as antidemocratic and called on Sharon to draw conclusions from the fact that even members of his own party oppose the plan.

"It only points to the weakness of the prime minister, to his inability to convince ministers in his government," Lieberman said.

Lieberman received the dismissal letter while exercising in a gym near Jerusalem, the radio said.

But Elon managed to evade Sharon's emissaries. He said yesterday that he discussed the issue with Sharon by telephone.

"I told him that there is a law. He must respect the law. The law demands a delivery [in person]. By telephone, I cannot know if it is him," Elon told Israel Radio.

With National Union out of the coalition, a key issue for Sharon is how the right-wing National Religious Party will act once the withdrawal plan passes in the government.

Some NRP lawmakers, including faction leader Effi Eitam, prefer to bolt, leaving Sharon vulnerable to no-confidence motions, one of which is scheduled for Monday. But other NRP members say leaving the coalition would encourage Sharon to join forces with the center-left Labor Party and would ultimately hasten the Gaza withdrawal.

Labor Party leader Shimon Peres is believed ready to join Sharon's government but not until the Israeli leader is cleared of wrongdoing in a bribery investigation, a process that could take several more weeks.

"Labor will always be willing to prevent Sharon from falling," said Ephraim Inbar, a political scientist at Bar-Ilan University near Tel Aviv.

Labor wants the withdrawal to commence immediately. Sharon has said it would take until the end of next year to remove all 8,000 settlers from Gaza.

Labor also wants the pullout to be coordinated with Palestinian leaders in a way that could resuscitate peace efforts. Sharon rules out a renewed peace bid as long as Yasser Arafat heads the Palestinian Authority.

Palestinian officials, watching the political turmoil in Israel from the sidelines, said they preferred not to get involved.

"What is going on in the Israeli political arena is an internal Israeli matter," said Hatem Abdel Qader, a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council.

"[The withdrawal plan] is an Israeli necessity. We are not part of it. But we don't oppose it," he said.

Globe correspondent Sa'id Ghazali contributed to this report.