JERUSALEM (AFP) - The Israeli cabinet approved a compensation package for settlers who are to be evacuated from their homes as part of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon`s Gaza withdrawal plan, as ministers jostled to finalise their positions ahead of a crunch debate on the project.
The legislation was approved by 13 votes to six, giving the premier a major boost ahead of Tuesday`s vote on his so-called disengagement plan which has been fiercely contested by settlers and members of Sharon`s own right-wing Likud party.
In violence on the ground, two Palestinian militants from the radical Islamic Jihad were killed in an Israeli air strike on southern Gaza.
The bill approved Sunday will empower the government to issue evacuation orders to the settlers, while allowing for anyone who tries to stay in Gaza or to block the pullout to be jailed for up to three years.
It also lays down compensation terms as agreed on by Sharon`s inner cabinet on September 14, which will see families receiving between 200,000 to 300,000 dollars.
"The law will, as much as possible, ease conditions for the settlers who are to be evacuated and I am certain that even those who oppose the disengagement plan will not want to make things difficult for the settlers," Sharon told ministers.
The plan will see the evacuation of all 8,000 Jewish residents of the Gaza Strip as well as several hundred settlers from four enclaves in the northern West Bank by the end of 2005.
Five of the ministers who voted against the bill were members of Sharon`s own Likud faction, underlining the rifts the project has created within Israel`s main right-wing party.
The compensation bill will be brought to the parliament for approval later this week, public radio said. It is expected to go to a first reading on November 1.
Sharon has warned he will sack any member of his government if they vote against the plan on Tuesday following a two-day debate in the Knesset, or parliament.
Pundits predict Sharon will win some 66 votes in the 120-seat chamber, helped by the support of MPs from the left-wing Labour and Yahad parties.
His chances of a more clear-cut victory suffered a blow on Saturday when the spiritual leader of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party urged its 11 MPs to vote against the plan, saying it would put Israelis in danger.
Sharon also said Sunday that the aim of the disengagement plan was to divest Israel of responsibility for the Gaza Strip, army radio quoted the premier as saying.
Israel could not currently afford to give up control of the airspace over Gaza and the sea corridor next to it but should the situation change, Israel would consider returning control to the Palestinians, he added, without giving further details.
If large numbers of Likud MPs vote against the project rather than abstain, it will raise the real prospect of a break-up of the party.
Disgruntled Likud members were meeting Sunday in a bid to try and advance the idea of holding a national referendum on the project -- an idea that Sharon has until now, firmly rejected, army radio said.
Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Education Minister Limor Livnat and Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom met to discuss a compromise proposal, whereby they would agree to support disengagement if Sharon agrees to hold a referendum on the issue, the radio said.
However, it looked unlikely they would present Sharon with such an ultimatum.
Members of the opposition Labour faction were also meeting Sunday to discuss the upcoming vote and next week`s vote on the state budget, the radio said.
Although Sharon is likely to win Tuesday`s vote, there are concerns that he might not be able to muster a majority to pass the 2005 budget to be debated next week, which would effectively bring down the government.
Sharon`s plan has won enthusiastic endorsement from US President George W. Bush, but European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana warned Sunday that Israel must "commit to making the withdrawal the first step in a process that leads to the pullout from all the occupied areas."
"If (Sharon) thinks withdrawal from Gaza alone is enough and that peace will automatically return, we will not back that idea," Solana told the German magazine Der Spiegel.
In Gaza, the airstrike which killed two militants in the southern town of Khan Yunis raised to 4,514 the number of people killed since the start of the Palestinian uprising in late September 2000, including 3,484 Palestinians and 956 Israelis.
Meanwhile, a team of Tunisian doctors who examined Yasser Arafat said he was suffering from an acute bout of influenza, sources close to the Palestinian leader said Sunday.
10/24/2004 - 18:32 GMT - AFP