Monday, February 21 2005 09:51 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Jerusalem: The Israeli Cabinet paved the way for an historic pullout from Palestinian territory yesterday (Feb 21, 2005) when Ministers overwhelmingly backed Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's plan to uproot the Gaza Strip's 8,000 settlers.

Officials said that Sharon's so-called disengagement plan had been approved by 17 votes to five, enabling him to become the first Israeli Prime Minister to order a pullout from occupied Palestinian territory.

Sharon, who is hoping the Gaza withdrawal will allow Israel to strengthen its grip on parts of the West Bank, also won endorsement for a revised route of the vast separation barrier, which the Palestinians fear is designed to pre-empt the boundaries of their promised State.

Several hours after the Cabinet vote on disengagement, Sharon and Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz signed an order for the evacuation of settlers to begin on July 20, the Premier's office said.

Sharon said in a speech that the decision to leave Gaza and four small settlements in the northern West Bank was the hardest of his career.

"I have seen the residents of the Jewish communities grow over the years and stand up to the bombardments and the attacks, I am proud of them and their love of Israel," he told an American Jewish organisation in Jerusalem.

"But there are moments which demand leadership and responsibility for decisions to be made even if they are unpopular," he said.

"As Prime Minister, I must look at the whole situation and I believe the disengagement plan will reinforce the Jewish character of Israel, improve its economic prospects and our international standing as well as re-launching the process to find a political solution" with the Palestinians, he added.

Under the terms of the plan, all 8,000 Gaza settlers and another 300 from four isolated settlements in the northern West Bank are due to be evacuated by autumn.

The five opponents of the plan were all from Sharon's own Likud party and included his archrival, Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The vote prompted a furious reaction from the settler lobby, which used to regard Sharon as their ultimate champion.

"Sharon has carried out a political putsch, having transformed his Government from the right to the left, whose only goal is to eradicate the Jewish settlements of Judea and Samaria (the West Bank) and Gaza," the Yesha settlers' council said in a statement.

Although the Palestinians welcome in principle any Israeli departure from occupied territory, they remain deeply sceptical about the Gaza plan, as Sharon has repeatedly made clear that the limited withdrawal would allow Israel to consolidate its presence in the West Bank.

"What worries us about such a withdrawal is that it is accompanied by enlarging settlements in the West Bank, which raises big questions about the validity of this withdrawal on a strategic leavel," Palestinian Labour Minister Ghassan Khatib said.

Palestinian suspicions that Israel is seeking to strengthen its hold on the West Bank were confirmed after the Cabinet approved the barrier's new route.