Israeli Cabinet rejects pull-out delay

Israel's Cabinet yesterday rejected a proposal to delay the start of a Gaza pull-out for three months, setting the stage for a showdown between Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and his main political rival Benjamin Netanyahu. The attempt to force Mr Sharon...

Israel's Cabinet yesterday rejected a proposal to delay the start of a Gaza pull-out for three months, setting the stage for a showdown between Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and his main political rival Benjamin Netanyahu.

The attempt to force Mr Sharon to postpone the withdrawal slated to begin in mid-August was a sharp reminder of the opposition he faces in his right-wing Likud party to the plan he has championed and a sign of internal leadership battles ahead.

Fears that ultranationalist opponents of the move out of Gaza might attack Israeli leaders also surfaced at the Prime Minister's office, where the Shin Bet security service fitted cabinet members for new bulletproof vests before they convened.

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