Am I missing something? Wouldn't a referendum result in the majority of Israelis supporting the disengagement plan? So I don't understand Netanyahu wanting it to go to a referendum.A referendum on disengagement is "not on the agenda," Prime Minister Ariel Sharon told Haaretz in an interview yesterday, saying he believed the schedule set for approval of the disengagement plan does not leave time for such a referendum.
For this reason, Sharon said he had not supported a nation-wide referendum but preferred holding a referendum among the Likud rank-and-file. Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz said cabinet and Knesset decisions were enough to authorize disengagement, but that he has no objection to a referendum if there were time.
Meanwhile, the National Religious Party Central Committee decided by a large majority to remain in the coalition until a decision is made on a referendum with a special majority.
One day prior to the security cabinet debate on the principles of the disengagement bill, Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu caught everyone by surprise by calling for a referendum on disengagement to be held after expediting the passage of a referendum law.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/477562.html