JERUSALEM – Senior Israeli Cabinet ministers yesterday approved the payment of cash advances up to about $100,000 to Jewish settlers who will be removed from their homes under Prime Minister Sharon’s plan to leave the Gaza Strip – the government’s first concrete step toward withdrawal.

The 9-1 vote in the Security Cabinet gave a boost to Mr. Sharon, who faces growing opposition. Earlier, he rejected a rival’s call to hold a national referendum on the pullout, calling it a stalling tactic.

Mr. Sharon wants to withdraw from all of Gaza and a small part of the West Bank by September of 2005, removing 8,500 settlers from their homes.

He hopes the cash advances will entice settlers to leave voluntarily well ahead of the deadline, avoiding confrontations between settlers and troops.

Settler leaders bitterly oppose any withdrawal. A settler spokesman, Yehoshua Mor-Yosef, said the vote “proves this is a destructive, illegitimate government.”

Meanwhile, police are investigating death threats against Mr. Sharon and the director of the disengagement administration, Jerusalem police commander Ilan Franco said yesterday. He said the telephone threats were received at the administration office.

On Sunday, Mr. Sharon warned that incitement by extremist opponents of his pullout plan could lead to civil war.

Prime Minister Rabin was assassinated November 4, 1995, by an ultranationalist Jew opposed to his government’s policy of trading land for peace with the Palestinian Arabs.

In other developments, Mr. Sharon threatened to expel Yasser Arafat “at a convenient time,” saying in a newspaper interview that he saw no difference between the Palestinian Arab leader and top Hamas terrorists killed by Israel.

However, Mr. Sharon, who has made similar threats in the past, is not expected to take action against the Palestinian Arab leader while he is focused on the Gaza plan.

A Palestinian Arab Cabinet minister, Saeb Erekat, called the threats part of a hidden agenda “to kill President Arafat and to push the Palestinian people toward chaos.”

In the West Bank, a Palestinian Arab suicide bomber riding a bicycle blew himself up near a checkpoint, wounding at least two Israeli soldiers, the army said. Rescue services said one of the soldiers was seriously wounded.

An Israeli lieutenant colonel in charge at the scene who gave only his first name, Shimon, said the incident occurred as Palestinian Arab farmers crossed through a gate in Israel’s security barrier near the West Bank town of Qalqiliya.

“He looked like an innocent civilian. …It appears he even spoke to the soldiers,” said Shimon, who is barred from giving his last name under army rules. “Then he turned the bike around and blew up.”

Palestinian Arab terrorists commandeered a police car yesterday and gunned down 24-year-old Ramez Yaghmour, who was suspected of collaborating with Israel, Palestinian Arab police said.

The Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, a terrorist group with links to Mr. Arafat’s ruling Fatah movement, claimed responsibility for both attacks. It said the bombing was meant to avenge the killing of three group members in an Israeli missile strike the day before.

In the Nur-Shams refugee camp next to Tulkarem, Israeli forces killed a Palestinian Arab terrorist after surrounding his house and exchanging gunfire for several hours, Israeli press reported. The military had no immediate comment.

Under the compensation plan approved yesterday, families would receive $200,000-$300,000 based on the value of lost homes and property and time spent in their settlements. The advances would amount to about one third of the total.

A government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said it would be several weeks before the advances begin. Total compensation is expected to reach about $670 million, the official said.

The vote, which came after a stormy meeting, marked an important accomplishment for Mr. Sharon. The prime minister previously lost two contests within his Likud Party over his plan.

The withdrawals are a crucial part of Mr. Sharon’s “unilateral disengagement” plan, meant to separate Israelis and Palestinian Arabs after four years of fighting. He says there is no serious negotiating partner on the Palestinian Arab side.

[Meanwhile, the Israel Defense Force’s Central Command is setting up a course for troops to learn how to evacuate Jewish settlers as part of the disengagement from the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, the Jerusalem Post reported.

The preparations will take place at the command’s main training base at Lachish and will include psychological support. “Today we are moving toward disengagement. We can say that we aren’t dealing with it. It’s not our business. But in the end it has to interest us,” said Colonel Gil Barak, outgoing commander of the Lachish base.

“We are already building all sorts of things connected with demonstrations, training people, and preparing them mentally,” Colonel Barak said. “It is not easy. It is going to be a challenge.”

The base has recently expanded and has set up a mock “Mukata” which troops have been using to train on structures similar to the battered fortress where Mr. Arafat has been holed up in Ramallah. ]

In newspaper interviews ahead of the Jewish New Year, Mr. Sharon rejected a proposal by the finance minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to hold a referendum on the Gaza withdrawal. Mr. Netanyahu, a former prime minister with ambitions to return to the job, is Mr. Sharon’s main rival for the Likud leadership.

Threats of violent resistance by Jewish settlers have increased calls for a national referendum on the pullout, which opinion polls show has strong support among Israelis. But a referendum would require Parliament to adopt a bill allowing for such a vote, a process that Mr. Sharon said would delay the withdrawal.

Mr. Netanyahu denied his motive was to postpone the pullout. He has offered only lukewarm support for the withdrawal plan, although he voted in favor of the compensation bill yesterday.