Sharon has angered the settlers, once his most ardent supporters, with his ''disengagement'' plan for separating Israelis from the Palestinians by withdrawing from Gaza and dismantling four settlements in the northern West Bank.

Sharon maintains that the plan will boost Israel's security after four years of fighting with the Palestinians. Settlers reject any territorial concessions to the Palestinians and any dismantling of settlements as a "dangerous precedent".

However, other settlers said they would continue to push for a referendum.

Earlier, Education Minister Limor Livnat became the latest to join the ranks of ministers urging for a referendum to "save the country" by asking Sharon today to heed to the demand provided the settlers pledged to accept the outcome.

In an attempt to broker a compromise between an adamant Prime Minister and the volatile settler community, Livnat earlier also met with the heads of the Yesha Council of Settlements.

Sharon, a lifelong hawk who nurtured the settlement project, told the settler leaders that he is determined to carry out his promise to the United States to evacuate dozens of illegal outposts.

He also emphasized that he was doing all he could to save those areas of the West Bank he could in the face of the U.S.'s position, as well as that of the rest of the world and the political parties in Israel.