Eighteen members of his coalition cabinet voted against a proposal put forward by Agriculture Minister Israel Katz to delay until November the so-called disengagement plan, which is due to start in six weeks.

Apart from Katz, only two other cabinet members -- Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Education Minister Danny Naveh -- supported the postponement, according to the prime minister's office.

The sweeping victory for Sharon came after the premier told his ministers that he would not countenance any further delay.

"Any delay to the withdrawal would be dangerous and as a result must be ruled out," Sharon told the cabinet in comments broadcast by Israeli radio.

Earlier this year, Sharon pushed back the start date of disengagement by three weeks but he has since consistently ruled out any further delay, regarding such as calls as blatant attempts to block the entire project.

While support for the pullout had been slowly eroding in recent months, it bounced back last week after a spate of violent protests by opponents.

A poll published by the top-selling Yediot Aharonot newspaper on Friday said that 62 percent of respondents backed the withdrawal, while 31 percent were opposed. Yediot's last survey published on June 10 showed only 53 percent were in favour while 38 percent were against the plan.

The survey seemed to reflect public anger at the tactics of protestors who have tried to blockade roads across the country and have been involved in clashes with the security forces within the Gaza settlements.

Sharon berated his ministers for failing to publicly condemn the violence, saying that "this silence cannot last."

Most of his anger was likely to be directed towards his arch rival Netanyahu, a former prime minister who makes little secret of his desire to regain the premiership.

His decision to vote against the prime minister will fuel speculation over his tactics on Wednesday when parliament is to debate a bill brought by a backbencher which likewise calls for the project to be delayed.

Netanyahu hinted Sunday that he would absent himself from the vote in parliament, and thus avoid the need to resign by breaking the tradition of collective responsibility.

"I will vote Sunday according to my conscience and I cannot vote on Wednesday against my conscience," he told reporters before the start of the cabinet meeting.

Opponents of disengagement are looking to Netanyahu to come off the fence and give some tail wind to what appears to be a doomed bid to halt the first ever Israeli withdrawal from occupied Palestinian territory.

Netanyahu last week said that the disengagement would have a sharply negative impact on the economy but said that he would not imperil his programme of economic reforms by quitting the cabinet.

The Yesha council, the main settlers' organisation, wrote to Netanyahu last week saying that it "is still not too late to stop this crime."