29 May 2004	Saturday	09 Rabi-us-Saani 1425

TEL AVIV, May 28: Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on Friday postponed a cabinet vote on his Gaza pullout plan, averting a humiliating defeat by rebellious ministers that threatened to bring down his coalition government.

Political sources said the vote, originally set for Sunday, had been delayed indefinitely while Sharon battles to overcome fierce opposition from cabinet members from his rightist Likud party.

But a source in Sharon's office said the cabinet vote could be rescheduled for as early as June 6. The Israeli prime minister had decided earlier on a showdown over his US-backed plan to evacuate all Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip and some from the West Bank, despite his party's rejection of the proposal in a May 2 referendum.

But he backed away from an immediate confrontation after realising he could not muster a majority in his fractious 23-member cabinet. "Sharon will only present his plan (on Sunday) and will start the debate," the source said.

No immediate comment was available from Israeli government officials on Friday night, the Jewish sab bath. On Thursday, Sharon offered a trimmed-down version of his plan for "disengagement" from conflict with Palestinians that would mean quitting just three of 21 Jewish settlements in Gaza, while "taking note" of his original scheme for a total pullout.

But after Likud hard-liners led by Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu - Sharon's powerful rival - rebuffed the compromise, he opted to go for broke in a move typical of the hardnosed former general widely known as "the Bulldozer".

Speculation grew in Israel that Sharon might try to replace some ministers who oppose the plan. A newspaper said earlier that Sharon was considering dismissing Netanyahu. -Reuters