Sharon to bring his plan to Likud vote

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon will allow Likud members to vote on his plan for disengagement from the Palestinians, according to a proposal being negotiated by Agriculture Minister Yisrael Katz, chairman of the Likud convention, and Uri Shani, Sharon's former bureau chief.

The move is intended to bypass the hawkish Likud central committee and the troublesome Likud Knesset faction and instead turn to the party's relatively moderate 300,000 grassroots members, who would be more likely to give the plan the party's stamp of approval.

A group of 15 rebellious Likud MKs called upon Sharon on Monday to bring his plan to the faction for a vote.

Katz made a similar call on Saturday night for the plan to be brought to the central committee, as former prime minister Menachem Begin did with his peace plan with Egypt.

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A courageous move by Sharon; bypassing the extremist base of his own party and taking his bold plan to the Israeli moderates.

an extremist himself. This is only sugarcoating. His policy is clear. "Facts on the ground" and more land grab... General with blood on his hands stays a general...