AL QUDS, Aug 19: Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon vowed on Thursday to press ahead with a withdrawal from the Gaza Strip despite a humiliating rebuff from his own party that could jeopardize the plan.

Mr Sharon's rebellious right-wing Likud voted overwhelmingly on Wednesday to bar him from forging a "unity" coalition with the centre-left Labour Party, a proponent of land-for-peace deals with the Palestinians, to help carry out a Gaza pullout.

Labour leader Shimon Peres called on Thursday for early elections, effectively calling off talks to enter the government in the wake of the Likud vote. "The opinion of the Labour Party today is to call for new elections and allow the people to decide," Mr Peres, a former prime minister, said.

If Mr Sharon defies Likud's pro-settler hardliners as he has done before, he could provoke a schism in Israel's largest party or risk early elections, which could stall any withdrawal.

But if he complies, he will find it hard to muster a cabinet majority to implement his blueprint for "disengaging" from conflict with the Palestinians - even though it is backed by the United States and enjoys broad public support in Israel.

Despite a weakened hand, Mr Sharon signalled his intent to keep up efforts to reshape his coalition to restore the parliamentary majority he lost over the plan, which calls for removing all soldiers and settlers from Gaza next year.

"The prime minister is continuing with the disengagement," Mr Sharon's office said, apparently seeking to assuage U.S. concerns. "He will try to build a stable coalition government."

Seemingly unfazed by the brewing crisis, Mr Sharon went ahead with a weeklong vacation starting on Thursday. Parliament is out of session until October. Likud's central committee, more hardline than the party's electorate, voted 58 per cent against allying with Labour, headed by Shimon Peres, Israel's leading dove. -Reuters