- JERUSALEM (Reuters) -- Israel's
attorney-general dropped a bribery case against Prime Minister Ariel Sharon
on Tuesday in what could be a potent boost for his historic plan to withdraw
settlers from occupied Gaza.
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- The decision that there was insufficient evidence to
indict the premier may help him overcome resistance in his right-wing camp
to "disengagement" from conflict with Palestinians and forge
a coalition with the left if needed to carry out his plan.
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- Israel's chief prosecutor had recommended Sharon be put
on trial. But Attorney-General Menachem Mazuz told a televised news conference:
"The evidence in this case does not bring us a reasonable chance of
attaining a conviction -- not even close."
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- Mazuz informed Sharon of his ruling shortly beforehand
and Channel 10 television quoted Sharon as replying: "Thank you."
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- An indictment could have toppled the 76-year-old former
general, nicknamed "The Bulldozer," who has known controversy
throughout his career. It could also have sunk his Gaza plan.
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- Sharon denied breaking any laws in the alleged payment
of hundreds of thousands of dollars to his son Gilad by a land developer
in the late 1990s.
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- Prosecutors looked into whether Sharon, foreign minister
at the time in the late 1990s, used his position to help the developer
obtain approval for an Aegean island resort from the Greek government.
The enterprise never got off the ground.
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- Mazuz's decision removed uncertainty clouding Sharon's
political future, although it may not be the final word.
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- Leftist opposition politicians vowed to challenge the
ruling in petitions to the High Court. Sharon could also face charges in
two other corruption probes in which he denies misconduct.
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- He pushed his plan for dismantling all 21 settlements
in Gaza and four of 120 in the West Bank by late 2005 through his cabinet
by a 14-7 vote on June 6, but at the cost of his coalition's stability.
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- Right-wing defections erased Sharon's parliamentary majority
and the settlers vow to resist removal with the support of patrons in Sharon's
divided Likud party and nationalist allies.
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- COALITION UPHEAVAL?
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- They aim to thwart Sharon's expected attempt this summer
to regain his governing majority with the opposition center-left Labor
party on board. Labor favors "disengagement" but ruled out coalition
talks pending Mazuz's ruling on Sharon.
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- But some in Labor oppose any alliance because Sharon's
plan excludes any significant withdrawal from the West Bank.
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- Sharon wants to consolidate Israel's hold on parts of
the West Bank where more than 230,000 settlers live. Palestinians welcome
"disengagement" but fear its West Bank element will deprive them
of land they want for a viable state.
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- Security sources said on Tuesday Israel was considering
moving Gaza settlers to an expanded West Bank settlement bloc despite possible
objections from Washington whose "road map" peace plan calls
for a freeze on settlement-building. The daily Maariv said Defense Minister
Shaul Mofaz ordered plans drafted for hundreds of new homes at Gush Etzion,
20 km (12 miles) south of Jerusalem, for transferred Gaza settlers.
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- Mofaz's office said he had visited Gush Etzion for discussions
on Monday but declined further comment. A senior Israeli security source
confirmed the Gush Etzion idea was "being studied" but had not
yet received approval. The "road map" plan, stymied by persistent
violence on both sides, prescribes a hold on settlement construction in
keeping with its vision of a Palestinian state alongside Israel.
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- But that provision has been called into question by President
Bush's unprecedented assurance to Sharon in April that Israel could keep
some West Bank land where some major settlement blocs lie.
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- Palestinian officials bemoaned the gist of the report.
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- "The whole idea was to turn a Gaza withdrawal into
an opportunity (for peace)," Palestinian Negotiations Minister Saeb
Erekat told Reuters. "If Mr Mofaz takes settlers from Gaza to the
West Bank, that would kill the idea."
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- - Additional reporting by Dan Williams and Nidal al-Mughrabi
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