(2004-05-03) Sharon Plan Outvoted

Ariel Sharon's plan for Israeli disengagement was voted down by 60% of the Likud. Polls have shown that the country at large supports his proposals... However, Tommy Lapid, whose Shinui Party is part of the governing coalition, said Likud could not determine the fate of the nation and demanded the issue be discussed in cabinet. Uri Dromi, a spokesman under the former Labour government, said he had backed Mr Sharon's plan and accused the prime minister of making a tactical mistake. "He should have gone ahead with this and then brought it to the Knesset," he told the BBC's Newshour programme.