Arutz-7's Knesset correspondent Haggai Seri-Levy reports that Prime Minister Sharon met yesterday afternoon with his Likud Party MKs. "The meeting was relatively quiet, compared to the last two faction meetings," Seri-Levy said. "This may have been because the ministers were not present. In any event, led by MKs David Levy and Naomi Blumental, many of the MKs railed against Sharon's plan to unilaterally retreat from Gaza."
The Prime Minister made the following points: "You want everything, and you'll be left with nothing. The enemy of 'good' is always 'better.' This plan is better for Israel than other plans - a good plan, but not a very good plan. We all want to remain in the entire Land of Israel, especially me. No one has the right to 'explain' that to me. But whoever thinks that under the current diplomatic circumstances, anyone in the world - including our best friend, the United States - will support this position, is a dreamer, mistaken and misleading others... We need patience. I am trying to get the most, but if you tie my hands, we'll get even less." Later he said, "We have a choice between bad and very bad." Sharon also said that there will be a clear linkage between the "depth of the American [agreement] as to which areas Jews can settle, and the depth of the steps that Israel takes." This was a hint to the demand raised by several Likud ministers, most notably Binyamin Netanyahu, that the United States must agree to Israeli control over areas in Judea and Samaria in exchange for the withdrawal from Gaza.
MK Yechiel Chazan, head of the Knesset Yesha lobby, left the meeting with an expression of "despair and capitulation," Seri-Levy reported. Chazan said, "The Prime Minister is working to achieve a majority for his plan, and it's taking shape. Sharon is determined to carry it out, and he will."
MK David Levy, a three-time former Foreign Minister, has not lost hope, or spunk. "You are breaking the international consensus," he told Sharon, "by showing that Israel is caving in before terrorism. This is not peace. The further we withdraw, the more the other side advances." Levy also criticized Sharon on procedural grounds, for "marketing the plan to the Americans and Europeans before the Knesset and Government even know about it."
The Prime Minister made the following points: "You want everything, and you'll be left with nothing. The enemy of 'good' is always 'better.' This plan is better for Israel than other plans - a good plan, but not a very good plan. We all want to remain in the entire Land of Israel, especially me. No one has the right to 'explain' that to me. But whoever thinks that under the current diplomatic circumstances, anyone in the world - including our best friend, the United States - will support this position, is a dreamer, mistaken and misleading others... We need patience. I am trying to get the most, but if you tie my hands, we'll get even less." Later he said, "We have a choice between bad and very bad." Sharon also said that there will be a clear linkage between the "depth of the American [agreement] as to which areas Jews can settle, and the depth of the steps that Israel takes." This was a hint to the demand raised by several Likud ministers, most notably Binyamin Netanyahu, that the United States must agree to Israeli control over areas in Judea and Samaria in exchange for the withdrawal from Gaza.
MK Yechiel Chazan, head of the Knesset Yesha lobby, left the meeting with an expression of "despair and capitulation," Seri-Levy reported. Chazan said, "The Prime Minister is working to achieve a majority for his plan, and it's taking shape. Sharon is determined to carry it out, and he will."
MK David Levy, a three-time former Foreign Minister, has not lost hope, or spunk. "You are breaking the international consensus," he told Sharon, "by showing that Israel is caving in before terrorism. This is not peace. The further we withdraw, the more the other side advances." Levy also criticized Sharon on procedural grounds, for "marketing the plan to the Americans and Europeans before the Knesset and Government even know about it."