Speaking at a press conference in Jerusalem this morning, Council head Bentzy Lieberman said, "There is no doubt that something significant happened yesterday [with the resignation of Finance Minister Binyamin Netanyahu], and everyone realizes that early elections are near, within the next two or three months. We therefore demand that the Prime Minister postpone the disengagement until after those elections."
"We say, 'Yes to democracy, No to disengagement,'" he noted, adding that the bottom line is the "democratic demand to return to the people. If this process had been executed in a democratic fashion, according to the will of the people, we would have accepted - with pain - the people's decision."
The Yesha Council, representing the Jewish communities in Judea, Samaria and Gaza, has submitted this request/demand to President Moshe Katzav and to other public figures as well.
Pinchas Wallerstein, a former Council chief who continues to head the Binyamin Regional Council, said, "We see the split in the nation in front of our eyes. The tragedy that our society and people are about to undergo is a terrible one. What would be the problem to hold elections in another 2-3 months? If it turns out that the nation is not with us, there won't be such difficult sights [of brotherly violence]. Instead, tens of thousands of people are being humiliated, including the people of Gush Katif and northern Shomron themselves... But there is a way of preventing this national split. There is no reason to prevent elections [before the expulsion] other than total evil. This split can be prevented, even now."
Wallerstein (pictured, left) and Lieberman (right) called on the Likud ministers to make their continued support for Prime Minister Sharon contingent upon the holding of new elections. "They have a unique chance to prevent the national split," according to the Yesha Council. "Even if two or three of the main Likud ministers, such as Shalom, Naveh, Katz, or Livnat, take up the gauntlet, Sharon will not be able, despite his trampling steam-roller style, to ignore this and rely only on the left and the Arabs."
The Professors for a Strong Israel joined the Yesha Council in its call: "We call upon those ministers in the Likud Party who are still loyal to the Land of Israel and to their party platform to detach themselves immediately from the government and to join the growing camp of those who oppose the expulsion of Jews from their homes in their Land."