The Israeli government is expected to approve on Sunday Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's proposal to establish five new settlements in the Negev, close to the Gaza Strip, despite charges that the move could hurt chances for reaching a diplomatic solution with the Palestinians, said Haaretz newspaper.
Sharon, said the paper, referred to the proposal as a renewed momentum in the settlement movement and rejected criticism from the left. Sharon also expressed certainty that the Labor Party, a partner in his national unity government, would support the plan.
In previous negotiations between the government of former prime minister Ehud Barak and the Palestinian Authority, one of the options raised was a land-swap deal that would have given the Halutza dunes, the currently proposed settlements site, to the Palestinians as part of the expansion of the Gaza Strip eastward, in exchange for Israel retaining parts of the West Bank.
In the run-up to the election, Sharon publicly committed himself to establishing settlements on the site if he was elected prime minister.
MK Zahava Gal-On from the Meretz opposition party said the planned Negev settlements would kill the chances of reaching a diplomatic settlement with the Palestinians, but another Meretz MK, Ran Cohen, proposed transferring all isolated settlements to the area in order "to save at least soldiers and settlers from the danger they currently face," said the paper.
Former justice minister Yossi Beilin, who opposes his party's membership in Sharon's government, sent a letter to the Labor Party secretary calling on ministers not to participate in the Halutza vote before the party discusses the issue.
However, last week after a brief meeting at the office of Foreign Minister Shimon Peres in Tel Aviv, the ministers decided they had no grounds to oppose the proposal – Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
