Israel's response to Palestinian violence after a pullout from the Gaza Strip would be even harsher than its present military operations, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said Tuesday.
Sharon's statement in a TV interview appeared aimed at reassuring critics of his "unilateral disengagement" plan, which includes withdrawal from all 21 Gaza settlements and four in the West Bank. Opponents say that would be a "reward for terrorism."
Sharon's Likud Party votes Sunday in a referendum on the Gaza plan, and polls predict a close outcome.
Protesting the plan, tens of thousands of Israelis streamed to Gush Katif, a bloc of Israeli settlements in the southern Gaza Strip, to celebrate Israel's independence day. Organizers said the turnout was surprisingly large. Many arrived in buses provided by the settler movement, while others, including many teenagers, marched along the heavily guarded road between Israel and the settlement bloc.
Sharon devoted his traditional independence day interviews on Israeli TV stations to urging recalcitrant party members to back his plan, warning of dire consequences if they vote it down.
After a pullout, Palestinians could no longer explain violence by saying that Israel was occupying their land, Sharon told Channel 10 TV, "and Israel's responses [to violence] would be much harsher."
He refused to give specifics, beyond noting that Israel is already taking stiff measures, an apparent reference to the killing of Hamas founder Sheik Ahmed Yassin on March 22 and his successor, Abdel Aziz Rantisi, three weeks later.
Hamas has been threatening punishing retaliatory attacks since Israel killed Yassin and Rantisi.
In the Channel 10 interview, Sharon warned Likud skeptics that rejecting the plan would also negate US guarantees that Israel could keep parts of the West Bank and deny entry to Palestinian refugees.
In an interview on Channel Two TV, Sharon said if the plan is voted down, "I would see it as a victory for [Palestinian leader Yasser] Arafat and Hamas. It would harm relations with the US and would damage the reputation of President Bush.''
However, many party members have difficulty digesting Sharon's sudden policy change -- he and the Likud have been the backbone of the settlement movement for decades.
Palestinians suspect Sharon's intention is to trade the tiny Gaza settlements for a permanent hold over large areas of the West Bank.
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