- Title: JERUSALEM: RIGHT-WING ISRAELI POLITICIAN NATAN SHARANKY QUITS
- Date: 4th May 2005
- Summary: (BN10) JERUSALEM (MAY 2, 2005) (REUTERS) FOR DETAILED SHOTLIST 1 - 5 SEE PROD 5660/05: 1. ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER ARIEL SHARON ARRIVING FOR CABINET MEETING 2. VARIOUS OF ISRAELI TRANSPORT MINISTER MEIR SHEETRIT ARRIVING FOR MEETING 3. (SOUNDBITE) (English) ISRAELI TRANSPORT MINISTER MEIR SHEETRIT, SAYING: "I'm totally surprised a
- Embargoed: 19th May 2005 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: JERUSALEM
- City:
- Country: Israel
- Reuters ID: LVAF277R0VJFOYO3YTL5ZRMTBNWW
- Story Text: Right-wing Israeli politician Sharansky quits
Israeli government over Gaza withdrawal plan.
Natan Sharansky, a right-wing Israeli politician
whose writings on democracy inspired U.S.
President George W. Bush, resigned his cabinet post on
Monday (May 2, 2005) in protest at Israel's planned withdrawal
from the Gaza Strip.
"From the very beginning I was against the
disengagement plan, I am against one sided steps, I believe
that the peace process can be successful only if there is
reciprocity,"
Sharansky told Reuters Television. "Now that
all the political process of debate in the government is
finished and the only reason for the existence of this
government is implementation of the plan, I don't think
that it's right ad moral for me who doesn't believe in this
plan to stay in the government".
"In my view, the disengagement plan is a tragic mistake
that will exacerbate the conflict with the Palestinians,
increase terrorism, and dim the prospects of forging a
genuine peace," Sharansky said in an open letter to Prime
Minister Ariel Sharon.
"I no longer feel that I can faithfully serve in a
government whose central policy -- indeed, sole raison
d'etre -- has become one to which I am so adamantly
opposed," he added.
A noted Jewish dissident back in his native Soviet
Union, Sharansky joined the Sharon government under a
coalition deal between his pro-immigrant faction Yisrael
Ba'aliya and the ruling Likud Party, serving as minister
for Diaspora Affairs.
But he came out firmly against Sharon's plan to
"disengage" from conflict with the Palestinians by quitting
occupied Gaza and a corner of the West Bank this summer,
calling such unilateral moves a recipe for renewed
violence.
It was the latest of several ideological walkouts from
the government, which has survived with cross-partisan
coalition pacts. A Sharon aide voiced no surprise at
Sharansky's decision.
"He always made it clear that, on principle, he would
not stay in the government if it was set on implementing
the disengagement plan," the aide said.
Sharansky's recent book, "The Case for Democracy", won
praise from Bush for its argument that democritisation,
especially in the Arab world, is the real key to key to
peace.
Sharansky says he would give Palestinians "all the
rights in the world" once they institute full democracy,
which he believes would ensure a future Palestinian state
coexisting with Israel.
But such sentiments ring false for many Palestinians
given Sharansky's support for Jewish settlements on
occupied land and the Sharon government's declarations that
Israel will keep much of the West Bank under any future
peace deal.
Giving up his government portfolio effectively puts
Sharansky out of Israeli policies as he has no seat in the
Knesset parliament. The Jerusalem Post speculated he will
devote himself to promoting his book, already a best-seller
abroad.
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