JERUSALEM (AFP) - Israeli MPs were set to approve Prime Minister Ariel Sharon`s Gaza pullout plan, clearing the way for a withdrawal of Jewish settlers from Palestinian territory for the first time in history.
Sharon was widely expected to win the backing for his so-called disengagement plan of around 66 members of the 120-seat parliament, or Knesset, where security was tight for the vote.
However victory is likely to come only thanks to support from the left-wing oppposition Labour and Yahad parties, with up to 17 out of the 40 MPs from Sharon`s right-wing Likud party likely to vote against the premier.
The prospect of a withdrawal has failed to halt the bloodshed in Gaza where two more Palestinians were killed by Israeli troops Tuesday.
Sharon, once the ultimate champion of the settlers, made an impassioned defence of his plan in a stormy debate in parliament on Monday.
"I have decided to go right through to the end with this separation. I am convinced this separation will strengthen Israel," Sharon told MPs at the start of a two-day debate that will culminate in a vote at around 1800 GMT Tuesday.
Under the plan, all 8,000 Jewish settlers will leave next year from Gaza, captured by Israel from Egypt during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. Several hundred residents of four small Jewish enclaves in the northern West Bank will also be uprooted.
By relieving some of the international pressure on Israel, Sharon hopes in turn to cement control over large settlements blocs in the West Bank.
The plan has been bitterly opposed by the prime minister`s former allies and the 240,000 settlers who live in the occupied territories.
While Israel`s 1982 evacuation of settlements in the Sinai yielded the prize of a peace deal with Egypt, opponents of disengagement say there are no such benefits to be reaped from leaving Gaza unilaterally and fear it will hand control on a plate to armed Palestinian factions.
"By leaving Gaza, we are running away from the terrorists," Likud MP and ex-foreign minister David Levy told parliament.
"When we had an agreement with Egypt (the late President Anwar) Sadat came here so we could exchange territory for peace, but this time there is absolutely nothing on the table."
The plan has the support of the US administration of President George W. Bush -- Israel`s closest ally.
But Palestinians harbour deep suspicions, fearing Sharon wants to block a more comprehensive pullout from the West Bank which should form the lion`s share of their future state.
Palestinian prime minister Ahmed Qorei said his government did not want to become embroiled in the intricacies of Israeli politics. "We are not getting involved in an internal Israeli issue," he told reporters.
If Sharon fails to win a resounding majority, his Likud rivals may try to resurrect a campaign to force the issue to a referendum.
According to an opinion poll published Tuesday, 65 percent of Israelis are in favour of the pullout. But Sharon is wary that his more highly motivated opponents will mobilise greater levels of support in such a ballot.
Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom, whose support for disengagement has been at best luke warm, told MPs a referendum was needed for such a vital decision.
"We don`t go to referendum on just any issue, but when it comes to giving away land, then it is needed," said Shalom who urged Sharon not to sack rebel ministers.
Massive security was in place around the Knesset, where thousands of police had water cannons at hand to prevent protests spinning out of control.
The atmosphere however was good-natured with around 15,000 settlers gathered in a nearby rose garden making their point with trademark orange t-shirts proclaiming "Gush Katif is our home".
Benzi Lieberman, head of the main Yesha council of settlers, told the crowds that MPs would be making a mistake of historic proportions if they approved the death sentence on a Jewish presence in Gaza.
"We have gathered here before the Knesset to warn that it is about take one of the most dangerous decisions in the history of Israel," Lieberman said.
Sharon, keen to fend off accusations that the pullout is an act of surrender to Palestinian gunmen, has been trying to crush militants.
In the latest violence, one Palestinian man was killed in an Israeli helicopter raid on Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip overnight while a second was later shot dead by troops in the nearby Rafah region.
A Palestinian man was also shot dead near the West Bank town of Nablus after an apparent dispute with a settler as he was harvesting olives.
10/26/2004 - 16:58 GMT - AFP