New gov't to be formed if disengagement not supported: Sharon

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, March 29, 2004

New gov't to be formed if disengagement not supported: Sharon

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Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said Monday that he will form a new government if coalition parties oppose his plan to unilaterally disengage from the Gaza Strip and certain parts of the West Bank.

Speaking at a meeting of the Knesset (Parliament) Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee, Sharon said he hoped his government would eventually support the plan, if not, he would form a new government "that very same day."

He planned to go to Washington on April 14 to present his disengagement plan to US President George W. Bush.

Israeli right-wing parties' leaders threatened to leave the government if Sharon presents a pullout plan that is contradictory to their party ideas.

Sharon said he would try and convince the National Religious Party and the National Union Party to support his plan. If the parties leave, either the Labor party or the Ultra-Orthodox parties are expected to take their place in the coalition.

Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz recommended the Israel Defence Forces remain in control of the strategic Philadelphia Corridor along the Egyptian border to continue fighting arms smuggling, blocking Gaza airport and preventing the construction of a Palestinian port on the Mediterranean.

Finance Minister Binyamin Netanyahu made his support of Sharon's plan on condition that all of the points of entry to the Gaza Strip- by land, air and sea - must remain in Israeli hands.

Source: Xinhua

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