MK Yechiel Chazan of the Likud, head of the Judea, Samaria and Gaza forum in the Knesset, says he will no longer work to topple Prime Minister Sharon. "I have not changed my mind as to the disengagement itself," he told Arutz-7's Yosef Meiri today, "as I have said many times; I have abstained on similar votes before, and I will vote against the disengagement when it comes for a Knesset vote. But I plan to support the Prime Minister on future no-confidence votes."
This contrasts with what he said just two weeks ago. "Sharon will be forced to disengage from his office," Chazan said at the time. "We will replace him with another leader from the Likud."
Earlier in today's conversation, Chazan implied that his vote yesterday against the no-confidence motion in the Prime Minister was a one-time affair: "On a day when Prime Minister Sharon said he will strengthen the settlement enterprise by building in Ariel, I felt it correct to support the Prime Minister."
Asked if the Prime Minister said that he plans to build, Chazan said that he saw it in the Haaretz newspaper.
A-7: "Sharon said it himself, or Haaretz reported that he plans to build? After all, this is against the letters he exchanged recently with President Bush."
Chazan: "Either it was reported and the Prime Minister's Office didn't deny it, or something like that... I saw only the headline in Haaretz."
A-7: "Ehud Yatom said he spoke to you only a few minutes before, and you said that you would abstain."
Chazan: "I don't owe an accounting to anyone. I am responsible for myself. If that's what he understood, so be it."
A-7: "But you are the head of the Yesha lobby, and not merely responsible only for yourself."
Chazan: "I can only repeat what I said before: As long as the Prime Minister plans to strengthen Judea and Samaria, I will support him."
A-7: "Will you be like the NRP, that is constantly judging to see whether the disengagement plan is going ahead?"
Chazan: "Now that the Cabinet has already approved the plan, I will not vote no-confidence in the Prime Minister."
A-7: "Will you continue to head the Judea, Samaria and Gaza forum in the Knesset?"
Chazan: "I was not elected to this post; I started the forum, and I will continue to head it."
In other conversations during the course of yesterday, Chazan gave other explanations for his vote, including "there was a mistake in the count." However, his last explanation yesterday was more to the point: "I spoke with Prime Minister Sharon beforehand, and we agreed on certain things that I do not want to expand upon - but they will be beneficial for the Yesha settlement enterprise. Therefore, I knew already in the morning that I would support him."
Likud MK Ehud Yatom said afterwards, "There's no question about it: he received something in exchange. As head of the Yesha lobby, he must 'draw the conclusions' [i.e., resign - ed.]."
This contrasts with what he said just two weeks ago. "Sharon will be forced to disengage from his office," Chazan said at the time. "We will replace him with another leader from the Likud."
Earlier in today's conversation, Chazan implied that his vote yesterday against the no-confidence motion in the Prime Minister was a one-time affair: "On a day when Prime Minister Sharon said he will strengthen the settlement enterprise by building in Ariel, I felt it correct to support the Prime Minister."
Asked if the Prime Minister said that he plans to build, Chazan said that he saw it in the Haaretz newspaper.
A-7: "Sharon said it himself, or Haaretz reported that he plans to build? After all, this is against the letters he exchanged recently with President Bush."
Chazan: "Either it was reported and the Prime Minister's Office didn't deny it, or something like that... I saw only the headline in Haaretz."
A-7: "Ehud Yatom said he spoke to you only a few minutes before, and you said that you would abstain."
Chazan: "I don't owe an accounting to anyone. I am responsible for myself. If that's what he understood, so be it."
A-7: "But you are the head of the Yesha lobby, and not merely responsible only for yourself."
Chazan: "I can only repeat what I said before: As long as the Prime Minister plans to strengthen Judea and Samaria, I will support him."
A-7: "Will you be like the NRP, that is constantly judging to see whether the disengagement plan is going ahead?"
Chazan: "Now that the Cabinet has already approved the plan, I will not vote no-confidence in the Prime Minister."
A-7: "Will you continue to head the Judea, Samaria and Gaza forum in the Knesset?"
Chazan: "I was not elected to this post; I started the forum, and I will continue to head it."
In other conversations during the course of yesterday, Chazan gave other explanations for his vote, including "there was a mistake in the count." However, his last explanation yesterday was more to the point: "I spoke with Prime Minister Sharon beforehand, and we agreed on certain things that I do not want to expand upon - but they will be beneficial for the Yesha settlement enterprise. Therefore, I knew already in the morning that I would support him."
Likud MK Ehud Yatom said afterwards, "There's no question about it: he received something in exchange. As head of the Yesha lobby, he must 'draw the conclusions' [i.e., resign - ed.]."