Israel's MPs back Gaza pullout

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon faced a growing backlash today after the country's parliament backed his plans to withdraw from the Gaza Strip.

Two ministers who voted against the proposal were sacked and a further four threatened to resign from the government unless a referendum is held within two weeks. Outside the parliament building protesters held placards denouncing Mr Sharon as a traitor.

"I came here to tell the people of Israel that this is our land and my home," said David Pinipnta, 31, of the

Gaza settlement of Neve Dekalim. "No power on earth can move me from it."

Several thousand settlers and their supporters waved posters claiming the historic vote was "a victory for terror".

"This is a battle," said Jonathan Patinkin, from the Beit El settlement in the West Bank. "If it goes on we will lose all the settlements. It is only the first step in a domino effect. Even Jerusalem is at risk."

At the end of two days of bitter parliamentary debate Mr Sharon was forced to rely on the opposition to carry through his plans unilaterally to " disengage" from the Palestinians after much of his Likud Party voted against him.

The government hopes to complete the withdrawal of 8,200 Jewish settlers next year, but must still submit to several more parliamentary votes.

After entering the parliament building flanked by an unprecedented 16 bodyguards, Mr Sharon toasted victory with 67 of the 120 MPs voting for the plan and 45 against. The remainder abstained.

Israel's deputy prime minister Ehud Olmert said: "The state of Israel is moving forward. We are going to change the status quo in the Middle East. We are going to make painful concessions-There is no return from this." He added the deep divisions within the party and the threats to resign by four Likud ministers, including Mr Sharon's rival Benjamin Netanyahu, showed "a lack of fortitude, a lack of ability to stand up to pressure".

Mr Sharon has refused to bow to calls for a national referendum, claiming it would delay the withdrawal by a year. His aides predicted that opposition to the plan may force him to put together a new ruling coalition or call early elections.

Mr Sharon's victory, which will strengthen efforts to evacuate 21 settlements in the Gaza Strip, appeared to signal a final break between him and the settlers.

The Knesset vote took place on the anniversary of two key dates in the Jewish state's history: the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and the Israel-Jordan peace treaty, signed on 26 October 1994. Palestinian cabinet minister Saeb Erekat said: "Now the seriousness of the Israeli government will depend on resuming negotiations with the Palestinian Authority."

In his speech before parliament Mr Sharon said disengagement would boost Israel's security and help ensure the country's identity as a democracy. However, he said disengagement would also "strengthen Israel's hold over territory that is essential to our existence" - an allusion to his plans to hold onto large parts of the West Bank and east Jerusalem, lands the Palestinians claim for a state.

The vote, backed by the US, came as speculation mounted that Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, confined to his West Bank headquarters for the past two years, may be seriously ill with stomach cancer.