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Peres: Israeli extremists may try to kill Sharon Opposition leader Shimon Peres said Tuesday he feared Israeli extremists might try to assassinate Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, the target of growing far-right fury over a planned withdrawal from Gaza next year.
"I am very fearful of the incitement, of the difficult things that are being said," Peres, Israel's leading dove and a key backer of Sharon's withdrawal plan, told the daily Maariv.
"I fear that someone will try to assassinate the prime minister," he was quoted as saying.
Israeli settlers in occupied Gaza and the West Bank once saw Sharon as their champion, but now brand him a traitor. Settler leaders boycotted a meeting with the prime minister aimed at calming tensions over his "disengagement" plan.
The snub came a day after Sharon faced rebellious lawmakers of his own rightist Likud who warned the party could split unless he put the pullout plan to a national referendum. Sharon bought time by agreeing to a task force to consider the matter.
Adding to Sharon's troubles, leading right-wing rabbis have begun urging soldiers to refuse orders to dismantle settlements built on land Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war.
In response, the army is planning to build a mock settlement to train troops to remove settlers who may barricade themselves inside homes and synagogues or even resist violently, the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper said.
Security has been tightened around Sharon while police investigate a series of telephone death threats against him.
Avraham Dichter, head of Israel's Shin Bet security service, said in July there were Jewish extremists who wanted to see Sharon dead and were backed by dozens opposed to the Gaza plan.
POLLS SHOW PUBLIC SUPPORT
Sharon's blueprint calls for removing all 21 settlements in Gaza and four of 120 enclaves in the West Bank by the end of next year to "disengage" from conflict with the Palestinians.
Most Israelis favor giving up Gaza's heavily guarded settlements, but far-right opponents call it a "reward for terrorism" after four years of Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Some settler leaders have raised the specter of violent resistance and even of civil war if Sharon goes ahead with evacuation. But such warnings have sparked outrage across the political spectrum and threats of prosecution for incitement.
Even with his ruling coalition on shaky ground, Sharon has vowed to keep to his timetable for bringing the principles of his plan to parliament next Monday for a debate and a crucial vote. He expects to win approval with Labour's support.
Sharon has steadfastly opposed calls for a referendum, believing it would play into the hands of his foes by delaying withdrawals beyond 2005.
The chief architect of Sharon's plan said the 8,000 settlers slated for evacuation from Gaza will have until next July to go and anyone resisting will be forced out by September.
Giora Eiland, Sharon's top security adviser, told Israel Radio the exact deadlines were still subject to final government approval. But he hoped settlers willing to move voluntarily would soon begin receiving down-payments. |
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![Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in Jerusalem at the Knesset winter session opening. Sharon appeared to have seen off pressure for a referendum on his Gaza pullout plan as his chances of winning parliamentary approval for the project improved. [AFP]](xin_511001192242501144742.jpg)
