Eitam said, "The Likud, which was afraid to depose Sharon before he lifted his hand against Gush Katif, is today paying the price of the treachery against the values of the nationalist camp, and for the turning of their back against the settlers. The Likud now sees how its leader abandons the sinking ship after he made holes in its ideological bottom, and now goes to bring new wind into the left-wing sails."
"Those who sacrificed the wholeness of the Land of Israel on the altar of the wholeness of the Likud Party," Eitam said, "now see that dividing the Land of Israel leads to the division of the Likud Party."
Eitam was referring to anti-disengagement Likudniks such as Ministers Tzachi HaNegbi and Yisrael Katz, and MK Gila Gamliel. On Oct. 13, 2004, Minister HaNegbi said that he objects to the disengagement plan, but is not willing to dismantle the Likud over it. "This plan is opposed to the ideals of the Likud," he said, "an initiative that involves the uprooting of Jewish communities and thousands of people from their homes - and all this in exchange for, essentially, nothing. I will attempt to fight and counter this - but only within the rules of the game; I don't want to destroy the Likud over it."
MK Gamliel said in July 2004, "We have no desire, Heaven forbid, to topple the Prime Minister. We want him to internalize one clear point: We love, support and back the Prime Minister on every issue - except for the disengagement. On this issue, we are against him. This is the message we want to give him. We don't want to topple him, and we don't want to have Labor join the government..."
Even Binyamin Netanyahu showed that maintaining the Likud was more important to him than retaining Gush Katif. After he and Minister Yisrael Katz and several other anti-disengagement ministers voted for the disengagement in a critical Knesset vote on Oct. 26, 2004, Netanyahu said, "We do not want to topple or replace anyone, but we want to give unity a chance, uniting the Likud and the nation."
Eitam did not go as far as his party colleague MK Aryeh Eldad, who said that the Likud and the other right-wing parties must unite to form a right-wing bloc. Eitam feels that it depends on whom the Likud chooses as its leader: "If the Likud chooses someone who will continue disengagement policies, then who needs the Likud? Arik does it much better."
"Those who sacrificed the wholeness of the Land of Israel on the altar of the wholeness of the Likud Party," Eitam said, "now see that dividing the Land of Israel leads to the division of the Likud Party."
Eitam was referring to anti-disengagement Likudniks such as Ministers Tzachi HaNegbi and Yisrael Katz, and MK Gila Gamliel. On Oct. 13, 2004, Minister HaNegbi said that he objects to the disengagement plan, but is not willing to dismantle the Likud over it. "This plan is opposed to the ideals of the Likud," he said, "an initiative that involves the uprooting of Jewish communities and thousands of people from their homes - and all this in exchange for, essentially, nothing. I will attempt to fight and counter this - but only within the rules of the game; I don't want to destroy the Likud over it."
MK Gamliel said in July 2004, "We have no desire, Heaven forbid, to topple the Prime Minister. We want him to internalize one clear point: We love, support and back the Prime Minister on every issue - except for the disengagement. On this issue, we are against him. This is the message we want to give him. We don't want to topple him, and we don't want to have Labor join the government..."
Even Binyamin Netanyahu showed that maintaining the Likud was more important to him than retaining Gush Katif. After he and Minister Yisrael Katz and several other anti-disengagement ministers voted for the disengagement in a critical Knesset vote on Oct. 26, 2004, Netanyahu said, "We do not want to topple or replace anyone, but we want to give unity a chance, uniting the Likud and the nation."
Eitam did not go as far as his party colleague MK Aryeh Eldad, who said that the Likud and the other right-wing parties must unite to form a right-wing bloc. Eitam feels that it depends on whom the Likud chooses as its leader: "If the Likud chooses someone who will continue disengagement policies, then who needs the Likud? Arik does it much better."