Israeli Finance Minister Binyamin Netanyahu Sunday announced his resignation over opposition to the disengagement plan, Israel Radio said.

In a dramatic step, Netanyahu presented a letter of resignation to a weekly cabinet meeting.

"We have reached the moment of truth today," Netanyahu wrote in the letter. "There is a way to achieve peace and security, but a unilateral withdrawal under fire and with nothing in return is certainly not the way."

"I am not prepared to be a partner to a move which ignores reality and proceeds blindly toward turning (the Gaza Strip) into a base for Islamic terrorism which will threaten the state," the letter said.

Netanyahu has criticized the disengagement but had resisted right-wing proposals that he resign from the government to create a crisis over the issue.

Netanyahu called the disengagement "an irresponsible step which will endanger Israel's security, split the people, institute the principle of return to the 1967 borders, and in the future, endanger Jerusalem as well."

The resignation came shortly before the cabinet formally ratified the first phase of the disengagement plan, which is set to start next week. Netanyahu had already announced that he intended to vote against the plan.

The radio quoted Prime Minister Ariel Sharon as saying that the disengagement will be implemented on time, and he was "not concerned over those who vote against."

Source: Xinhua