Israel’s Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, has said he will present a new peace plan and a security proposal that envisions a physical buffer between Israel and the West Bank when he meets with President George W. Bush next week in Washington.
"I'll be presenting a plan, a serious plan, maybe the most serious that has been presented by now, how to reach peace in the Middle East, how to reach peace between us and the Palestinians," Sharon said in a Wednesday night interview with ABC's "Nightline" TV program.
According to Sharon, he plans to create a buffer zone around Israel to stop "the penetration of terrorists to the heart of the country." He acknowledged his plan would be costly and said he would seek financial aid from the United States.
"We'll have to raise the issue because in order to build it -- if we build it -- it will help," he said.
Sharon outlined details for a plan that calls for the placement of troops in part of the West Bank, along with fences and ditches on borders and security gates at vehicle crossings.
"We will have there all the needed technical devices to see if they are carrying ... explosives, weapons, things like that," he said.
Sharon said Israel did not mean to interfere with the movement of people in the region. But he added: "They will have to cross in places were we can check them."
Asked about a New York Times report that Bush will ask him again for assurances that all Israeli forces will be pulled out of the West Bank and Gaza, Sharon responded: "I think that will have to be discussed."
Sharon aired he would continue to move troops in and out of West Bank cities to fight “terror.” "If these acts of the most terrible acts of terror with civilian as the targets will continue, Israel will have to do something similar to what they have done. "We are not going to be blackmailed by terror," Sharon added. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
