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This article deals with a current or ongoing event. Information may change rapidly as the event progresses.
Israel's unilateral disengagement plan (shortly known just as the disengagement plan, תוכנית ההינתקות) is a proposal by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to move out of some Palestinian areas, dismantle some settlements, and reinforce others.
In the Gaza Strip, Sharon plans to dismantle all 21 settlements. In the West Bank, Israel would hold on to and consolidate six groups of communities and settlements in the heart of the territory, with over 90,000 settlers:
Sharon says the plan is designed to improve Israel's security, in the absence of political negotiations to end the conflict. Palestinians say it aims to bypass past international agreements and call for an overall withdrawal from the territories.
U.S. president George W. Bush endorsed the plan, saying:
The Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs, Brian Cowen, announced the European Union's disapproval of the plan, saying it "will not recognize any change to the pre-1967 borders other than those arrived at by agreement between the parties." However, Europe has given tentative backing to the Disengagemnt plan as part of the Road Map for Peace.
Failing to gain public support from senior ministers, Sharon agreed that the Likud party will hold a referendum on the plan in advance of an Israeli cabinet vote. The referendum was held on May 2, 2004 and ended with 56% of the voters saying no to his disengagement plan despite most polls showing approximately 55% of Party members supporting the plan before the referendum.
Commentators and the press described the rejection of the disengagement plan as a hard blow to Sharon. Sharon himself announced that he accepts the Likud referendum results and will take time to consider his steps. He has ordered to Minister of Defense Shaul Mofaz to create an amended plan which Likud voters could accept. (As of August that plan has been accepted by the cabinet in principle)
On June 6, 2004, Sharon's government approved the amended disengagement plan but with reservation that dismantling of each settlement should be voted separately. The plan was approved in 14-7 majority after the National Union ministers and cabinet members Avigdor Liberman and Benny Elon were sacked and a compromise offer by Likud's cabinet member Tzipi Livni was achieved.
Following the approval of the plan and the intensive terrorist attacks on Erez crossing and the Erez industrial zone, it is decided to close the Erez Industrial Zone and move its factories to development towns such as Ashkelon, Dimona, Yeruham and Sderot. Many factories were shut down even before, because of increasing Palestinian terrorism and attempts of Palestinian employees to murder their Jewish employers.
As a result of the passing of the plan (in principle), two NRP (Mafdal) ministers (Effie Eitam and Yitzhak Levy) resigned, leaving the government with a minority in the Knesset. Despite these measures, the NRP is currently split on whether to leave the government completely out of opposition to the disengagement plan or remain inside to prevent a secular Likud-Labour-Shinui coalition from forming.
Sharon's pushing through this plan has alienated many of his supporters on the right and has garnered him unusual support from the Left wing in Israel. However, many on both sides remain skeptical of his will to carry out a withdrawal beyond Gaza and Northern Samaria. It is believed he has a majority for the plan in the government but not his own party. This has forced him to seek a National-Unity government, which has yet to be established as of August of 2004.
Javier Solana, European Union High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), stated on June 10, 2004:
July 25, 2004, the "Human Chain", a rally of tens of thousands of Israelis to protest against Israel's unilateral disengagement plan of 2004 from the Gaza Strip took place. The protestors formed a human chain from Nisanit (later moved to Erez crossing because of security concerns) in the Gaza Strip to the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem on a 90 km route.
On September 14, 2004, the Israeli cabinet approved plans to compensate settlers who are due to leave the Gaza Strip in 9-1 majority, where only Mafdal's Zvulon Orlev is against.
On September 15, 2004, a survey published in Maariv showed the following results:
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