Israeli prime minister Mr Ariel Sharon is determined to withdraw Israeli troops and settlers from much of the Gaza Strip and will seek Cabinet approval for the plan after a US trip next month.
Mr Sharon also told a parliamentary committee today if the plan is rejected, he will try to form a new government immediately, an aide said. The pledge comes despite a growing corruption inquiry involving the Israeli prime minister.
Mr Sharon suffered his latest legal setback today when the supreme court ordered his son to hand over potentially incriminating documents in a pair of corruption cases, including a bribery inquiry involving the prime minister.
The decision came a day after Israel's chief prosecutor, Mr Edna Arbel, recommended that Mr Sharon and his son be indicted in the 1999 bribery case, in which a property developer allegedly paid the Sharon family hundreds of thousands of pounds in exchange for help in promoting a tourism project.
The final decision on whether to indict Mr Sharon is up to Israel's attorney general, who is expected to rule within weeks.
Opposition MP Mr Yossi Sarid said he asked the prime minister during a closed-door parliamentary hearing to suspend himself while the investigation is pending. Mr Sarid quoted Mr Sharon as telling him: "I am functioning as I should."
The investigations also have weakened Mr Sharon's standing in his own Likud Party, throwing into doubt his plan to withdraw from most of the Gaza Strip and isolated West Bank settlements.
Mr Sharon has said he would go ahead if peace making with the Palestinian remains stalled.
Deputy Prime Minister Mr Ehud Olmert, a close ally of the prime minister, said today that Mr Sharon will not be deterred.