Sharon Hints at Gaza Withdrawal

[JohnLocke]

Sharon Hints at Gaza Withdrawal
Tuesday, January 13, 2003 - The Scotsman

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon hinted today that Israel might pull out of the Gaza Strip, another sliver of information about his mostly undisclosed plans for unilateral moves if peace talks break down.

A day earlier, Sharon pledged to bring such moves to a parliament vote after consulting his coalition partners and international allies – a way of giving hard-line parties a possible veto over evacuating Jewish settlements.

Visiting the Bedouin town of Segev Shalom in the southern Negev desert, Sharon welcomed Bedouin soldiers who had served in the Gaza Strip. “I hope that the day will come when we won’t have to be in the Strip and you will really be free to do things that are more important.”

Sharon has said that if talks on the road map peace plan do not progress in the coming months, he would order unilateral steps to disengage from the Palestinians, including imposing a temporary border with the West Bank and moving some Jewish settlements in the West Bank and Gaza.

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Read the rest here.

[JohnLocke]

1. Interesting article.