"We're not the 'Likud rebels,' as some call us, because the majority of the party voted against the disengagement." So said Likud MK Ehud Yatom last night, referring to the group of party MKs who object to the retreat from Gaza and who refused to vote in favor of the government last night.
The political situation is in flux, as Prime Minister Sharon survived three no-confidence motions last night - but just barely. Sharon knows that he is at the mercy of those in his own party who object to his plan to retreat from Gaza and northern Shomron. Although no Likud members voted against the government, Minister Uzi Landau and Deputy Minister Michael Ratzon were among the nine Likud members who walked out for the vote. Sharon was considering firing the two, but was made to realize that this would merely deepen the split in the party - and would likely hasten the fall of the government. MKs Yuval Shteinitz, Michael Eitan and others "persuaded" Sharon of the merits of this argument.
Ratzon explained that he did not support the government last night because, "The essence is that the government made a decision that is opposed to the will of the party membership as expressed in the referendum. I advise the Prime Minister to act with caution." He said that he would continue to act in accordance with the decisions of the "party rebels."
MK Ehud Yatom also had criticism of Sharon: "I was sorry to hear that Sharon wanted to fire Landau and Ratzon, because they acted according to the results of the referendum that Sharon himself decided upon. I failed to understand why the Prime Minister did not adopt the referendum results, and I had trouble understanding the firing of the National Union ministers." Asked if there might come a time when he and his fellow Likud retreat-opponents would not merely abstain but might actually vote against the government, Yatom merely said, "Let's not be too hasty."
Yatom expressed consternation at fellow MK Yechiel Chazan, the head of the Yesha lobby in the Knesset, who voted in favor of the government yesterday. "I don't understand what happened," Yatom said. "I spoke to him just a few minutes before the vote, and he said of course he was with us and would abstain, and then he voted in favor. I called him afterwards, and he wasn't able to explain. First he said one story, then another. I don't know."
Other parties were also divided in yesterday's vote. In the NRP, half voted against the government - MKs Effie Eitam, Yitzchak Levy and Nissan Slomiansky - while the other three did not vote: Minister Zevulun Orlev and MKs Sha'ul Yahalom and Gila Finkelstein. At present, the party appears to be half in the opposition, and half in the coalition.
Minister Orlev said after Sunday's Cabinet meeting - at which he was the only religious minister, following the firing of Benny Elon and the resignation of Effie Eitam - that the NRP's presence in the government is even more beneficial now for "the settlement enterprise, religious-state relations, and the country's Jewish identity." He emphasized once again that he will not sit in a government that uproots Jewish communities.
Meretz/Yachad actually abstained in the vote, even though they are a strong opposition party, as did many members of Labor. A total of over 30 MKs abstained in yesterday's no-confidence motion regarding the disengagement plan.