Parliament backs Sharon's new coalition
New Israeli coalition favors pullout plan, deepens Likud split
JERUSALEM (CNN) -- A new Israeli governing coalition that favors Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's disengagement plan was narrowly approved Monday by Israel's parliament.
The vote was 58 for and 56 against in the Knesset. The new coalition combines Sharon's Likud movement with the Labor Party and the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism party for a total of 66 seats in the 120-member parliament.
Sharon formed the coalition after defections from his previous government last year left him with control of only 40 seats.
If 61 or more parliament members had voted against him, Sharon's government would have fallen.
While Sharon won, the voted marked a deepening split in Likud, with 13 members refusing to back him.
Those 13 support Jewish settlers in Gaza and the West Bank who would have to leave under Sharon's disengagement plan.
The next critical test for Sharon will come Wednesday, when his government's budget comes up for a vote. The budget will be voted on three times, and political observers say it will be more difficult for Sharon to maintain support in those votes.
Sharon was assured a majority Monday when Arab parties and the left-wing Yahad faction announced that they would support his coalition, even though they differ with him on most policies other than disengagement.
Sharon's disengagement plan calls for the evacuation of all 21 Jewish settlements in Gaza, as well as the Israeli military forces deployed to defend them. Four small settlements in the northern West Bank would also be evacuated.
Sharon has said he is eager to meet with Mahmoud Abbas, who was declared the winner of the Palestinian Authority's presidential elections on Monday.
Opinion polls show that Sharon remains extremely popular with Israeli voters, most of whom back his disengagement plan. He has said that delaying disengagement until after a new election would be a waste of time.
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter said Monday that the new Palestinian Authority leadership has expressed support for the U.S.-backed Middle East peace plan, but that Israel still had concerns. (Full story)
