Sharon makes a break with Jewish settlers

The plan would mark the first time Israel has pulled down Jewish settlements in the West Bank or Gaza. It has bitterly divided the nation, and solidified Sharon's transformation from longtime patron of the Jewish settlers to their No. 1 nemesis.

In other developments, Israeli troops withdrew from a refugee camp in southern Gaza, ending a two-day operation aimed at halting Palestinian mortar fire in which 17 Palestinians were killed.

Meanwhile, speculation mounted that Yasser Arafat is suffering from a serious ailment following news that the 75-year-old Palestinian leader underwent an endoscopy to check his digestive tract. Israeli security officials said there is "something serious," possibly cancer. Palestinian officials said Arafat is merely recovering from the flu.

Sharon opened a stormy two-day debate in parliament Monday, defending his plan as the only way to secure Israel's future.

"This is a fateful moment for Israel. We are dealing with a difficult decision that has few parallels," he said in a speech repeatedly interrupted by heckling from hard-line opponents.

"We have to do this, despite all the suffering involved," Sharon said. "This will decrease hostility, and will lead us forward on the path to peace with the Palestinians."

Israeli commentators said Sharon's speech was remarkable, both for his gestures toward the Palestinians and his unprecedented criticism of settlers, whom he accused of suffering from a "messianic" complex.

"Even if tomorrow morning Ariel Sharon resigns from his position, or is deposed, or recants, this earthquake has already occurred. The rift has taken place. Nothing will ever be the same," wrote Ben Caspit in the Maariv daily.

Tuesday's vote is the climax of a monthslong confrontation over Sharon's "unilateral disengagement" plan, which has torn apart Sharon's Likud Party and weakened his coalition government.

Sharon was expected to win, but only with the help of dovish opposition parties. Nearly half of Likud's 40 lawmakers said they would vote against him, and two religious parties that Sharon has courted Shas and United Torah Judaism also have come out against the plan.