THE Israeli Justice Minister warned right-wing rabbis yesterday that they risked sparking civil war with their incendiary remarks against the looming withdrawal from Gaza and could face prosecution.

The threat from Tommy Lapid, before a bitterly contested Knesset vote next Tuesday on Ariel Sharon’s plan to pull out of Gaza, came in response to calls from leading rabbis for soldiers to refuse orders to expel Jewish settlers.

Tensions have escalated in the run-up to the debate, a showdown that Mr Sharon is expected to win by at least six votes. Victory would pave the way for the evacuation of all 21 Jewish settlements in Gaza and four others in the West Bank by next September.

Security around the Israeli Prime Minister, senior politicians and parliament is being tightened amid fears that Jewish extremists, spurred by ultra-nationalist rabbis, could resort to violence in the hope of derailing the process.

The Justice Minister joined the outcry against right-wing rabbis opposed to the evacuation plan, giving a warning that their statements to Orthodox Jews could incite violence.

“I fear there is a risk of bloodshed,” said Mr Lapid, who heads the secular Shinui party, a partner in the governing coalition. “I hope it does not spill over into civil war. History has seen more crimes committed in the name of sanctity than in the name of sin. We have reached the outer limits of our patience with statements that could pose a danger to public security.”

Mr Lapid hinted that the religious leaders could be prosecuted for inciting violence. “Some would say we have been too circumspect,” he said. “After the (former Prime Minister, Yitzhak) Rabin murder, we must observe the boundary between acceptable and criminal statements.”

Shimon Peres, leader of the Labour opposition, said that he feared that Jewish extremists, who branded Mr Sharon a dictator endangering Israel’s future, may try to kill the Prime Minister. Mr Peres said that the febrile climate was reminiscent of that before Mr Rabin’s assassination by a Jewish extremist in 1995.

The Shin Bet security service has been put on high alert and has stepped up protection around Mr Sharon, adding to his bodyguard detail and running decoy convoys to confuse would-be assassins.

Despite the precautions surrounding Mr Sharon — he was dwarfed by ten bodyguards this week — the bulky Prime Minister was evasive as to whether he wore a bullet-proof vest. He joked that the vests were not made in his size. Police are investigating death threats made by anonymous callers. Steps are being taken inside and outside the Israeli parliament to ensure that the marathon debate, due to start on Monday, will not be interrupted by any of the thousands of settlers expected to converge on Jerusalem to besiege legislators.

Jewish schools in the West Bank and Gaza will shut on Tuesday to enable pupils and teachers to travel to the Knesset to hold rallies. Settlers are threatening to encircle the building with a procession of thousands of slow-moving cars. Officials have reduced the number of guests that Knesset members can take into the premises from the customary 20 to 2. Guests’ movements will be severely restricted.

Visitors allowed entry to see the proceedings from the gallery will, as normal, watch from behind bullet-proof screens. But they will be barred from access to many areas, including the cafeteria.

Security sources say that when Mr Sharon enters the Knesset building, doors will be bolted and corridors closed off to reduce the risk of an assailant getting close.

Closed-circuit television cameras are being installed throughout the building, sniffer dogs are being brought in to check for explosives and the Knesset guard has been increased and given special training.

But the politicians are more difficult for Mr Sharon to control. Yesterday his one-time ally, the Speaker of the Knesset, Reuven Rivlin, sent a letter to the 3,000 Likud central committee members suggesting that Mr Sharon was no longer fit to lead. The disengagement would result in ceding settlements in the West Bank, he claimed.

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