Israel would need one to two years to remove 17 Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip, Israel's Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said in remarks published Tuesday, detailing evacuation plans first disclosed on Monday.
Sharon also said he would look for the Bush administartion's approval and possibly financial aid for relocating some 7,500 settlers to Israel. He added he plans to remove what he called three "problematic" settlements in the West Bank.
Speaking to the Haaretz newspaper, the Israeli leader acknowledged that his country might have difficulty justifying a request for U.S. aid, but stated that in the end it would be in Washington's interest to help with the dismantling of settlements.
"They (the Americans) were opposed to the establishment of settlements," Sharon said. "Now they can say `we warned you,' but the Americans rely on us in the region and what will develop here as part of the president's vision."
Commenting on the plan publicly on Tuesday, Sharon declared that "Apart from the settlers, this matter hurts me personally more than anyone." Despite the difficulty and the pain, he continued, "I have reached the conclusion that as the one who shoulders the responsibility to allow the development of Israel under maximum security, there is a need to do this.
"In this matter I am looking forward, that is my responsibility. Not to day-to-day comfort, but to Israel's development, security and economy in the years to come. This truly pains me greatly, but this is my responsibility, and therefore I said what I said, and what I said, I intend to carry out."
The United States on Monday welcomed Sharon's statement. White House spokesman Scott McClellan said it was "encouraging that Israel is considering bold steps to reduce tensions between Israelis and Palestinians."
Sharon's closest ally, Vice Premier Ehud Olmert, said Tuesday that the prime minister is "serious," and that implementation could start by the summer. Sharon told Haaretz the removal of settlements could take one to two years.
Olmert said Sharon believes he will have broad popular support for the proposed pullback. "Sharon is not willing to continue with the status quo forever, when this status quo exacts a heavy price from us, a price we are unwilling to pay," Olmert told Israel Radio.
Sharon faces interrogation Thursday after a close associate was indicted on charges of bribing the prime minister to advance a business deal. If Sharon is indicted, he would have to step down, at least temporarily.
Sharon's comments created some confusion over the extent of a possible withdrawal. The prime minister told Haaretz that eventually, there would be no Israelis left in Gaza Strip. He also told Likud legislators that the Strip settlements were a "security burden" and a "source of continuous friction."
However, his spokesman, Raanan Gissin, said later that three settlements at the northern tip of Gaza Strip, close to Israel, would not be removed, because "there is not the element friction" there. Gissin said removing 17 settlements was one of three options, but none of them called for uprooting all of them, The AP reported.
A telephone poll of a representative sample of 500 adult Israelis carried out for the Hebrew daily Yediot Ahronot indicated that 59% approved Sharon's plan to remove Israeli settlements from the Gaza Strip. 34% opposed this move. (Albawaba.com)
© 2004 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
