Jerusalem: Triggering a major political crisis in Israel, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's annual Budget was overwhelmingly defeated in the Parliament as a key ruling coalition partner voted against it, drawing sharp reactions from Sharon who sacked five ministers of the junior ally.

Sixty-nine lawmakers in the 120-member Knesset voted against the Government yesterday (Dec 1, 2004) in the first reading debate on the Budget while 43 supported it, leaving the Sharon Government scrambling to cobble up a new alliance to avoid a possible no-confidence motion against him. Shinui Party, the second largest partner in the ruling coalition with 16 members, voted against the Budget to protest the Sharon Government's decision to hand the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism Party a sum of approximately $66 million in return for the support of their five lawmakers.

Minutes after the embarrassing defeat, Sharon retaliated and sacked all the five senior ministers from the Shinui party and personally handed over the dismissal letters.

The dismissal now leaves the minority Sharon Government with just 40 members as two coalition partners had withdrawn their support earlier protesting against the controversial "disengagement plan".

Before the crucial vote in the Knesset, Sharon told the Interior Minister Avraham Poraz, who requested postponement of the reading on Shinua's behalf that, "I want you in the Government, but you created this crisis, and you will have to find a way out."