The Cabinet voted 16-6 tonight to approve a three-stage withdrawal of the Israel Defense Force from south Lebanon. The first stage, expected to take five weeks to complete, will pull the IDF out of the coastal town of Sidon and its environs.
Under the plan, the second stage will pull the IDF out of the northeast sector of south Lebanon and the final stage will bring it to the international border. No timetable was given for completion of the second and third stages. Defense Minister Yitzhak Rabin explained that the timing has been left flexible and would be determined following a review of the effects of the first stage.
The dissenting votes were cast by Deputy Premier and Foreign Minister Yitzhak Shamir, leader of Likud, and five Likud colleagues — Moshe Arens, Avraham Sharir, Moshe Nissim, Moshe Katzav and Haim Corfu.
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