Rabbi Yisrael Weiss, who holds the rank of general in the army, said he would resign if he was asked to do so by former grand rabbi and ultra-nationalist leader Avraham Shapira, a leading anti-withdrawal campaigner

Shapira and other right-wing rabbis have since October been urging members of the army not to take part in the "sinful" transfer of Jews from the territory planned for next year by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

Army chief of staff General Moshe Yaalon minimized Weiss's controversial comments, saying in a statement Friday that he fully trusted the rabbi.

"I have full confidence in him when he says he is against disobeying army orders. His ideas are well known and he has made clear that his comments on the (Gaza) disengagement did not reflect his true beliefs," the statement said.

Soon after his comments were made public, Weiss told army radio he had made "a slip of the tongue".

Left-wing MPs and members of settler watchdog movement Peace Now earlier called for Weiss to be sacked.

"Rabbi Weiss is an officer and a state employee and he must only follow orders from his superiors," MP Yossi Sarid told journalists.

But the National Religious Party, of which Shapira is spiritual leader, and settlers gave their support to Weiss.

While the disengagement plan has led to deep divisions within the country, the defense establishment is determined to ensure that troops are not dragged into the debate and start questioning orders from their superiors.

Sharon on Wednesday said that the army "must make no concessions and demonstrate a firm resolve" in the face of growing calls for soldiers to disobey commands to implement what opponents call a forcible transfer of Jews.

"The army is there to carry out the orders it is given," Sharon added.

But Sharon also urged the military to show "sensitivity and understand the pain of the settlers" during the 12-week evacuation of 8,000 settlers due to begin in June.

Another four isolated settlements on the northern West Bank are also set to be dismantled at the same time.

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