Sharon warns against 'no' vote

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JERUSALEM -- Prime Minister Ariel Sharon yesterday warned that rejection of his Gaza Strip withdrawal plan could force early elections and said he would push ahead with the proposal regardless of the outcome of a vote in his Likud Party.

Polls forecast rejection of the plan in tomorrow's referendum among 193,000 party members.

Mr. Sharon made a final effort yesterday to narrow the gap, granting rare interviews to three Israeli TV networks, writing a newspaper commentary and labeling opponents as "extreme right."

Mr. Sharon said it would be "difficult" for the Likud to remain the ruling party if party members reject his plan to withdraw from all Gaza Strip settlements and four West Bank enclaves.

"I feel there is a great danger that we will be dragged into elections, as a result of which the Likud could be pushed out of power," Mr. Sharon said on Channel 10 TV.

He also told Channel Two that he is determined to bring peace and security, "and therefore I will fight to try to advance" the plan.

In recent weeks, supporters of the pullout maintained an edge, but surveys this week -- including one broadcast yesterday on Channel 10 -- pointed to a flip-flop.

The Channel 10 survey, conducted by Marketwatch, said that of the 500 Likud members polled, 48 percent were opposed, 37 percent in favor and 15 percent remained undecided. No margin of error was given.

Opponents of the plan -- among them ultra-Orthodox settlers who normally observe the Jewish Sabbath by not driving, working or using electricity -- were expected to campaign throughout the weekend.

Settlers have waged an intense campaign, holding demonstrations, putting up posters across the country and visiting the homes of Likud members.

They have argued that a pullout would hurt Israel's security and reward Palestinian terror attacks. Opponents also plan to send volunteers to polling stations tomorrow for last-minute lobbying.

A group of 150 reserve officers, including a host of generals, yesterday published a half-page advertisement in Yediot Ahronot newspaper calling a Gaza withdrawal "a brave step" that is good for Israel's security.

The referendum marks the first time a vote is being held in Israel on an issue that has divided the nation for decades: whether to give up land captured in the 1967 Middle East war.

The withdrawal proposal also marks a drastic departure for Mr. Sharon, once the foremost champion of settlement expansion.

In recent weeks, he has increasingly attacked his former core constituents, arguing that settlers must not be allowed to impose their will on the country.

A "no" vote is a vote against the prime minister, Mr. Sharon said yesterday. "You can't be for me, but be against my plan," he said, addressing Likud members.