ISRAEL: With his ruling coalition in danger of collapse, the Israeli Prime Minister, Mr Ariel Sharon, had to rely on assistance from the opposition Labor Party yesterday to survive two no-confidence motions in parliament. It comes just a day after the government approved his plan to withdraw from Gaza and four settlements in the northern West Bank.
Israel's Foreign Minister, Mr Silvan Shalom, meanwhile, was in Cairo yesterday to discuss the withdrawal plan with President Hosni Mubarak.
In a bid to placate recalcitrant ministers in his ruling Likud party and win a majority for his plan, Mr Sharon agreed on Sunday that settlements would not actually be evacuated until the matter had again been brought before cabinet for a vote.
Mr Sharon has said he plans to dismantle all 21 settlements in Gaza and four in the West Bank by the end of 2005, but the actual vote on the evacuation process, which is supposed to be carried out in four phases, has been put off for another nine months.
Mr Sharon may have cooled rebellious Likud ministers for now, but the future of his ruling coalition is uncertain, with the National Religious Party (NRP), which views itself as the patron of the settler movement, meeting last night to discuss whether to remain in government.
Under discussion in Cairo was the possibility that Egypt would deploy a further 130 troops along the border with Gaza to prevent the smuggling of weapons from Egypt into the strip via underground tunnels. Egypt is keen to play a role in Israel's plan to evacuate Gaza because it fears that Islamic militants might wrest control of the strip after Israel departs.
Meanwhile, two Palestinians were shot dead yesterday by Israeli troops in the territories. It was also reported that troops shot dead a 31-year-old wheelchair-bound Palestinian on Sunday.
The Israeli air force carried out an air strike on a guerrilla target near the Lebanese capital Beirut last night, an army statement said. It said the strike responded to rocket fire from Lebanon at an Israeli naval vessel patrolling Israeli territorial waters in the Mediterranean earlier in the day. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.