Arab MKs Cut Sharon’s Majority

Arutz 7 ^ | 10-18-2004 | staff

[Nachum]

Arab Knesset members’ surprise opposition to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s Gaza Withdrawal plan reduces support in the Knesset for his disengagement.

Arab Knesset members’ surprise opposition to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s disengagement plan reduces his support to 67 MKs, only seven more than a majority of the parliament’s 120 members.

The three Arab-Israeli parties have eight seats in the Knesset. The three-member Hadash-Ta’Al party, headed by Ahmed Tibi, said it is opposed to the plan because it would ”deepen Israeli occupation in the West Bank” and does not include a total withdrawal of Israeli armed forces from the Gaza Strip.

The Arab Balad party, which also has three mandates, has voiced similar opposition, leaving only the two members of the Arab Communist party in favor of the plan which calls for the tearing down of 21 Jewish communities in Gush Katif and four more in northern Samaria.

Its leader, Abdulmalik Dehamshe, stated he would support Sharon because he “won’t raise my hand in opposition to an end to the occupation.”

Sharon’s support may change as pressure mounts towards the proposed vote next week. More defections from his own Likud party or opposition from left wing parties, which have criticized the plan, could narrow the majority and severely weaken the Prime Minister’s ability to carry out his proposal.