Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s disengagement bill is certain to be passed on its first reading, but the margin of Sharon's victory will be less than he expected.
About 65 Knesset members support the plan, but the Prime Minister's hopes for a large number of abstentions faded Monday night when the United Torah Judaism party announced at least four of its five members will vote against the proposal. Opponents are hoping that close to 55 MKs willvote against Sharon's plan.
Another matter of great interest is the split vote within the Likud. Some party members say that the Likud is headed for a split. Close to half of the party's MKs, led by Minister Uzi Landau and Deputy Minister Michael Ratzon, are expected to vote against the plan.
In general, the disengagement plan has been advanced by a right-wing prime minister but will be passed with a left-wing majority. Two-thirds of those voting in favor of it belong to the left-wing or Arab camps, while only a third of the right-wing camp support it.
Today's session begins at 4 PM Israeli time, with short speeches by Prime Minister Sharon and Opposition leader Shimon Peres. Every MK will be given a chance to address the Knesset for five minutes and lay out his or her view of the plan. The marathon session will take a recess at midnight, and will resume Tuesday before noon. The vote on the first reading of the bill is expected to be held at 8 PM.
The next steps may prove much more difficult for Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who already has announced that he will present the 2005 budget for a vote next week without including the price tag of the proposed dismantling of 25 Jewish communities. The cost will be at least hundreds of millions of dollars, and there is uncertainty whether the budget will pass even without this addition. A defeat of the budget would be considered a non-confidence vote, thus forcing new elections.
Large demonstrations will be held throughout the session near the Knesset and elsewhere. Pro-disengagement groups will demonstrate this evening, under the slogan, "The Majority Rules: Leave Gaza, Start Talking." The Yesha Council has declared a "day off" tomorrow: Schools will be closed, and following two hours of prayer, Psalms, and Torah study, buses and cars will take tens of thousands of people from all over Judea, Samaria and Gaza to the Knesset for a day of demonstrations.
About 65 Knesset members support the plan, but the Prime Minister's hopes for a large number of abstentions faded Monday night when the United Torah Judaism party announced at least four of its five members will vote against the proposal. Opponents are hoping that close to 55 MKs willvote against Sharon's plan.
Another matter of great interest is the split vote within the Likud. Some party members say that the Likud is headed for a split. Close to half of the party's MKs, led by Minister Uzi Landau and Deputy Minister Michael Ratzon, are expected to vote against the plan.
In general, the disengagement plan has been advanced by a right-wing prime minister but will be passed with a left-wing majority. Two-thirds of those voting in favor of it belong to the left-wing or Arab camps, while only a third of the right-wing camp support it.
Today's session begins at 4 PM Israeli time, with short speeches by Prime Minister Sharon and Opposition leader Shimon Peres. Every MK will be given a chance to address the Knesset for five minutes and lay out his or her view of the plan. The marathon session will take a recess at midnight, and will resume Tuesday before noon. The vote on the first reading of the bill is expected to be held at 8 PM.
The next steps may prove much more difficult for Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who already has announced that he will present the 2005 budget for a vote next week without including the price tag of the proposed dismantling of 25 Jewish communities. The cost will be at least hundreds of millions of dollars, and there is uncertainty whether the budget will pass even without this addition. A defeat of the budget would be considered a non-confidence vote, thus forcing new elections.
Large demonstrations will be held throughout the session near the Knesset and elsewhere. Pro-disengagement groups will demonstrate this evening, under the slogan, "The Majority Rules: Leave Gaza, Start Talking." The Yesha Council has declared a "day off" tomorrow: Schools will be closed, and following two hours of prayer, Psalms, and Torah study, buses and cars will take tens of thousands of people from all over Judea, Samaria and Gaza to the Knesset for a day of demonstrations.