Sharon pushes plan despite declining popularity

JERUSALEM (AP) -- Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is losing ground in his hard-line Likud Party less than two weeks before a key vote on his plan to pull out of Gaza Strip and West Bank areas, according to an opinion poll published today.
Taking on his critics, Sharon addressed the Israeli parliament today to defend the plan. "Anyone who wants Israel to initiate and not be dragged, to lead and not be led, must support the disengagement plan," Sharon said.
Sharon had decided to bring the so-called disengagement plan to the 200,000 members of his party for approval. While not directly addressing the declining support in surveys, Sharon hinted in his parliamentary address that he would press for Cabinet and parliamentary approval even if he loses his party vote. Initially, he had said the Likud referendum would be binding.
"The commitment we took upon ourselves, the members of the Likud and myself, to act according to the results of the referendum, is a public and moral duty, not a legal or binding duty," he added.
The poll published today in the Haaretz newspaper found that opposition to the plan is growing. According to the survey, 44 percent of Likud members said they would vote in favor, and 40 percent said they would vote against. Previous surveys have shown Sharon with a narrow majority of support.
The poll, conducted by the Dialog agency, questioned 502 Likud members and had a margin of error of 4.4 percentage points.
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