Sharon Quits Over Israeli-Palestinian Peace Talk Moves

Hard-line Trade Minister Ariel Sharon resigned today to protest government moves toward Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. He tendered his resignation at a crucial meeting of the dominant Likud party that ended in pandemonium.

Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir walked out of the Likud Central Committee meeting called to set Middle East peace policy amid shouts of “coward, coward” after declaring that he had won a vote of confidence.

Minutes earlier, Sharon announced his resignation, telling Likud delegates he was quitting over government efforts to convene U.S.-proposed peace talks in Cairo. He too claimed victory.

Shamir told the meeting that he had been surprised by Sharon’s announcement. “After I receive his letter, and I have yet to receive it, I will give him my response.”

The dramatic ending was chaotic, with Shamir failing to get the clear support he had sought and Sharon saying he would leave the government to campaign against the negotiations.

Shamir, caught off guard by Sharon’s resignation as the meeting opened, delivered a speech that accepted many rightist demands, including a ban on participation in the talks by East Jerusalem Arabs, but that fell short of those sought by Sharon.

“From here I am asking for a vote of confidence from a moral and political standpoint,” Shamir told the 3,000 delegates.

“Do I speak in the name of the government? The public in Israel must know who represents the Likud--me or my detractors,” he shouted.

About two-thirds of the audience appeared to raise their hands in support of Shamir when Sharon grabbed a microphone and shouted for votes on crushing unrest.

“Who is for wiping out terror?” Sharon shouted to the crowd as Shamir tried to thank the audience for its support.

With a deafening roar filling the exhibition hall at the Tel Aviv fair grounds, Shamir walked off the stage and headed toward the exit surrounded by security guards.

Cries from Sharon supporters of “Arik, Arik”--his nickname--switched to shouts of “coward, coward” as the diminutive prime minister left the stage.

“I conducted a vote and received results and received a decisive majority and Minister Sharon had no authority to conduct any vote,” Shamir told reporters later. “The meeting didn’t continue.”

The Central Committee session had been called to set Likud policy on the Cairo peace talks.

Instead, it left the party, the dominant partner in Israel’s coalition government, seriously divided. Some delegates said Sharon’s resignation threatened to break up the 13-year-old Likud.

Shamir wanted a solid show of support that would leave him free to set terms for the talks but Sharon demanded conditions that would sharply limit his ability to maneuver.

“Under your government, Palestinian terror runs wild within the land of Israel and causes heavy losses to innocent Jews and Arabs,” Sharon said in announcing his resignation.