Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on Sunday postponed for a week a cabinet vote on a revised version of his Gaza pullout plan and threatened to sack some of his ministers in order to push the project through.
Sharon announced the decision at the start of this week's cabinet session where the revised "disengagement plan" was due to be discussed.
The delay is intended to give the beleaguered Sharon more time to whip up a majority within the 23-member cabinet in support of his new proposals, a watered down version of a plan which was rejected by members of his right-wing Likud party in a ballot four weeks ago.
Sharon said that he was aware that "my plan has aroused concern" but he said its implementation was "important for the interest of the state and its citizens".
"There will be a full and open discussions within the government on the plan. We will start this process today and continue it next week," he added in comments broadcast by public radio.
The new plan would involve the evacuation of only four of the 21 Gaza settlements initially, with any further pullouts the subject of fresh votes in cabinet.
Former prime minister and current finance minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been leading the opposition to the revised Gaza plan, apparently sniffing the prospect of a return to the premier-ship.
The meeting was reportedly marked by heated argument between Sharon and Netanyahu and warnings by the premier that he was ready to sack ministers.
"I am warning anyone who wants to exploit moments of crisis for personal ends that I have decided to adopt this plan even if I have to change the composition of my government," Sharon was quoted as saying by army radio.
"The fate of Likud is dear to my heart but the country must come first." However Netanyahu accused him of failing to respect the wishes of Likud. "You cannot throw the vote of the Likud members into the dustbin," he said. "You've got to accept the decision of the majority rather than just follow the opinion polls and the general mood."
According to the latest polls, 70 percent of the Israeli public support the Gaza plan.
Army chief of staff, General Moshe Yaalon, the head of the Shin Beth internal security service, Avi Dichter, and the military intelligence chief General Aharon Zeevi, all gave their support to the plan in the cabinet talks, the radio added.
And in a thinly veiled swipe at Netanyahu, Defence Minister and close Sharon ally Shaul Mofaz said before the meeting that the continued occupation of the Gaza Strip threatened the Jewish state's security.
"Anybody who aspires to assume the functions of the prime minister must recognise that the continuation of our presence in the Gaza Strip runs contrary to our security interests," Mofaz, a former army chief of staff, told public radio.
Sharon himself said that he would "not allow anybody to provoke a serious crisis to further personal interests".
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