Says pullout creating base for Islamic terror in Gaza
 
By Yossi Verter, Haaretz Correspondent and Haaretz Service
 
In a dramatic step following the cabinet ratification of the first phase of the disengagement plan, Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced his resignation from the government Sunday, citing his opposition to the pullout.

"We have reached the moment of truth today," Netanyahu wrote in a letter he placed on the cabinet table before abruptly leaving the ministers' weekly session. "There is a way to achieve peace and security, but a unilateral withdrawal under fire and with nothing in return is certainly not the way."

Netanyahu has often criticized the disengagement, but had resisted right-wing calls that he resign from the government to force a crisis over the issue.

 

He told reporters that the Gaza pullout is endangering Israel by creating a "base for Islamic terror" in Gaza. He said such warnings by security officials were being ignored by the government.

Netanyahu acknowledged that his resignation was unlikely to halt the withdrawal. He complained that the government was acting with "complete blindness."

"I cannot stop this [the pullout], but I can be at peace with myself. I can say that I cannot be a party to this," said Netanyahu, who served as finance minister for the past two-and-a-half years.
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