Sharon govt survives no-confidence

The first motion, submitted by the dovish Yahad-Meretz party and Arab parties, was defeated by a 46-31 margin, with 15 abstentions. The Shas motion was voted down by 41 to 26, with 22 MPs abstaining.

The motions were submitted a day after the cabinet granted a qualified approval for Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's Gaza pullout plan.

Tap Here to Add The Daily Star As A Trusted Source

The cabinet voted 14 to seven in favour of a revised version of the premier's so-called disengagement plan which envisages a phased evacuation of all 21 Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip and four in the northern West Bank.

Under the terms of a compromise solution, no withdrawals from the Palestinian territories will take place until next March at the earliest, while each phase will be subject to separate votes in cabinet.