Israel Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said Sunday night in a statement that he will not resign after the failure in Likud referendum on his disengagement plan.

"I know that much of the Israeli public supports my plan. I know that they feel, as I do, disappointment with the results of the referendum. We have difficult days before us where difficult decisions need to be made," he said.

Sharon insisted he would not resign, but would consult the Likud ministers, the parliament faction and his coalition partners to decide what steps to take.

"One thing is clear to me," he said in the statement, "Israel did not elect me to sit and do nothing for four years. I was elected to find a way to bring quiet, security and peace to this nation."

He promised to continue to lead Israel.

Sharon, meanwhile, thanked US President George W. Bush for his "deep friendship and leadership."

He said that he had proposed and promoted the disengagement plan together with the US, adding that "Israel has never enjoyed such great, significant and historic support as it has received from the US."

Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Sunday night that the polls do not prove that Sharon's policy is wrong, Israel has no choice but to implement the disengagement plan.

Another Deputy Prime Minister Yosef Lapid also said that the vote against Sharon's plan will harm Israel's credibility in the US, adding Sharon is determined to go on with the disengagement plan despite failure.

Israeli Channel 1 poll found 62 percent of Likud members voted against the proposal, while just 38 percent voted in favor.

An Israel Radio poll found 59 percent of registered voters opposed the plan, while 40 percent supported it. Other Israeli media also released similar results.

The Likud Central Elections Committee said only around 40 percent of the 193,190 registered Likud members voters participated in the poll.

Israeli Labor Party chairman Shimon Peres said in response to the defeat for Sharon's disengagement plan in Likud referendum that the Labor Party decided to propose new elections, Israel Radio reported.

"It would be unacceptable for a small group of people to make decisions for the rest of the country," said the former prime minister, adding, "We propose elections and dissolving the Knesset (parliament)."

Under the so-called Sharon plan, Israel would evacuate 17 of the 21 Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip and take down four small West Bank settlements and complete construction of a West Bank separation barrier by the end of 2005.

Opponents say that an Israeli pullout will be seen as victory by Palestinian militants.

Sharon issued a last-minute appeal to cabinet ministers earlier in the day, urging them to vote for his disengagement plan and call on other Likud members to do the same.

Sharon said the vote would determine the direction in which Israel was headed.

"This is a fateful decision, tough but the most important, which will determine whether Israel will move forward in all areas - in security, in economy, in education, in industry, in our relations with the United States - or move backward," Sharon said.

"And each person must think good and well about the future of his children and his own future, and vote for my plan," he added.

Sharon's son, Likud Lawmaker Omri Sharon, was forced to leave the largest polling station, at Jerusalem's International Convention Center after he was attacked by opponents, both verbally and physically.

(Xinhua News Agency May 3, 2004)