http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=4912443JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Scrambling to halt erosion of support for his Gaza pullout plan, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon urged lawmakers Thursday to back him or risk losing unprecedented U.S. assurances to the Jewish state.
Sharon said a new package of U.S. commitments that could widen Israel's borders and prevent the return of Palestinian refugees was an "inseparable part" of his proposal to withdraw from the Gaza Strip and four West Bank settlements.
"Whoever is opposed to the plan gives up all these achievements we'd made...(and) will carry the responsibility of canceling all the U.S. commitments," said Sharon. "This is a comprehensive agreement."
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Sharon came out fighting during a parliamentary session after a poll found support for his "disengagement" proposal in his right-wing Likud party had slipped to 44 percent ahead of a crucial May 2 party referendum. Forty percent opposed the plan.