JERUSALEM, April 29 (Xinhuanet) -- The Israeli initiators of the Geneva Accord decided on Thursday to cancel a weekend advertisement campaign supporting Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, local newspaper Jerusalem Post reported.

    The decision was made after officials close to Sharon said the ads would kill his chances of passing the unilateral disengagement plan.

    According to the report, the ads called upon the members of the right-wing Likud party to support withdrawing from the Gaza Strip as a first step to an agreed settlement with the Palestinians with additional withdrawals from settlements.

    But a Sharon associate said the ads were tantamount to "a shot in the head."

    Some 193,000 Likud members will go to the polls on Sunday to vote on the plan.

    A poll by the Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth released Thursday showed that 47 percent of Likud members oppose the plan, while 39 percent are in favor, with 14 percent still undecided.

    The gap was somewhat narrower in a poll by the Maariv daily, which found 45 percent of party members oppose the plan while 42 percent supported it, with the rest undecided.

    Sharon sounded confident in radio interviews broadcast on Thursday morning that his plan will win the support of party members in the referendum.

    The Prime Minister met with close aides on Thursday to drum up support for the plan. He decided that he will drive home the point that Israel will suffer enormous diplomatic, security and economic damage if the plan is not approved by Likud members.

    It was also decided during the meeting that the prime minister will not commit to resigning if the plan is rejected. Enditem