[originaltext] Exit polls in Israel show that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s u

Exit polls in Israel show that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s unilateral disengagement plan from some Palestinian areas has been firmly rejected by his Likud Party. While Mr. Sharon has acknowledged defeat in Sunday’s referendum, he says he has no intention of resigning.
   The exit polls broadcast late Sunday showed that between 58 and 62 percent of Likud members voted against the prime minister’s plan to pull out of the Gaza Strip and parts of the West Bank.
   Observers say opponents of the plan were more motivated than Mr. Sharon’s supporters. The Liknd Central Elections Committee says that only about 40 percent of the nearly 200,000 members eligible to take part in the referendum actually cast ballots.
   Besides low-voter turnout, another factor that appeared to weigh against the prime minister was the killing on Sunday of a pregnant Israeli woman and her four daughters in an ambush by Palestinian gunmen in the Gaza Strip.
   It is believed the killings prompted many previously undecided Likud voters to reject the plan.