23 May 2004	Sunday	03 Rabi-us-Saani 1425

AL QUDS, May 22: Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon will submit to his cabinet on May 30 his revised plan for a gradual withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, Israeli public radio reported on Saturday.

On May 9, Sharon told his cabinet he would present a new "separation plan" within three weeks, following his Likud party's rejection the previous week of his first scheme, which had US backing.

"A phased disengagement would allow us to test the reaction, stage by stage, of the Palestinians," a top Sharon aide told AFP on Wednesday.

A gradual withdrawal would allow the Jewish state to put a halt to the evacuation according to the evolution of the situation on the ground, public radio reported.

The new plan calls for a nine-month preparation period before the start of the phased pullout.

The Jewish settlements that are at greatest risk of being targeted by violence would be the first to be evacuated, once the government gives the initiative the green light.

By the end of the process, the Israeli army would have withdrawn from the whole area except for the strip known as the Philadelphi road along the border with Egypt in the Rafah sector, currently the scene of a deadly, large-scale Israeli army operation.

Sharon looks sure to face a tight cabinet vote. Of the 23 ministers, 12 members of Sharon's coalition are thought to be in favor of his reworked plan while 11 are against, according to Likud sources.

One of the principal opponents, minister without portfolio Uzi Landau, told public radio Sharon's new proposals were the "same thing" as the previous plan.-AFP