Israeli cabinet minister of Jerusalem and Diaspora Affairs Natan Sharansky announced his resignation Monday to protest Israel's failure to condition the disengagement plan on democratic reforms in the Palestinian National Authority.

"Waiving this condition will weaken the chances of building a free Palestinian society and support terror," Sharansky said in a letter of resignation, which he submitted to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon Monday morning.

Sharansky warned that the plan to withdraw from the Gaza Strip and part of northern West Bank was a mistake that would make it more difficult to achieve a genuine peace.

"We are standing before a terrible rift in the nation and to my regret I sense no effort by the government to prevent it," he said.

Sharansky has consistently expressed opposition to Sharon's disengagement plan. He had hinted in the past he would not remain in a government responsible for evacuating Jewish settlements in the West bank and the Gaza Strip.

The Jerusalem Post reported on Monday that Sharansky has been telling confidants in recent days that he intended to quit immediately after Passover.

Sharansky's aides tried to downplay the story on Sunday by saying that he never said specifically when he would quit but sounded more resolute than ever about his decision.

National Religious Zionist Renewal Party member of the Knesset (parliament) Effi Eitam praised Sharansky for quitting the government.

"The resignation of a man who has become an international symbol in the struggle for human rights and advancing democracy is a big moral victory for the anti-disengagement camp, "Eitam said.

"Sharansky preferred to adhere to his principles rather than to his cabinet seat and he should present a model for other Likud ministers who are against the pullout but continue to sit in the government implementing the plan," he added.