Nine Israeli soldiers were injured Tuesday morning by two mortars fired at a military base in the Gaza Strip, Israel Army reported. Hamas' military wing claimed responsibility for this attack.
In the West Bank city of Qalqilyah, Israeli occupation troops demolished on Tuesday the home of a Palestinian activist who tried to blow up a Tel Aviv cafe six months ago. Six Palestinians were arrested by the Israeli forces overnight Tuesday in the Nablus area.
Meanwhile, Israel's Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said in a published interview on Tuesday that dismantling settlements on land Palestinians seek for a state under a U.S.-backed peace plan is "not an issue on the horizon".
Sharon also said that Jews will continue to live in Shilo and Beit El settlements under Israeli sovereignty. "If you ask me whether in Beit El there will not be Jews," Sharon said, "no, Jews will live there."
Asked if they will continue to live in Beit El and Shilo under Israeli sovereignty, he replied, "Do you see a possibility of Jews living under Arab sovereignty, I'm asking you, do you see that possibility?"
The US-backed "road map" plan calls for Israel to stop expanding settlements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip as part of a series of confidence-building steps.
Sharon told the Jerusalem Post daily that all Israeli governments had pursued settlements in some form in the past. "But in my mind this is not an issue on the horizon right now," he said. (Albawaba.com)
© 2003 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
