Sharon's Likud Party votes against his plan for withdrawl from Gaza: With about half of the votes counted, the plan was being defeated by a margin of 62 percent to 38 percent. About 40 percent of Likud's 200,000 members voted Sunday. Sharon had warned before voting that if he did not get the support of the party, Israel would probably face new elections. After the exit poll results began coming in, Sharon said in a statement: "I respect the results. My intention is to continue to lead the country to the best of my ability, my conscience and public obligation. It is not an easy mission, but it is my intention to do it." ...In an interview Friday with Israeli Channel 2, the prime minister said: "If ... the plan is not passed, that will lead us to elections, new elections that would be very bad for Israel, absolutely superfluous, especially in light of our economic situation today."