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Sharon sez Jerusalem stays whole
In Israel, Premier Ariel Sharon tried to hush a political uproar caused by a report in the US weekly Newsweek, which quoted one of his top advisors as saying that in theory, Sharon would accept a Palestinian state in Gaza and 90 per cent of the West Bank, and a compromise on Jerusalem, in exchange for peace.Sources in the premierâs entourage said Wednesday morning they were âfuriousâ with advisor Kalman Gayer, who made the remarks, said to be an âembarrassmentâ for Sharon less than four months before elections on March 28. The premier issued a statement late on Tuesday, dismissing the comments as âcomplete nonsenseâ. âThe remarks attributed to Kalman Gayer absolutely contradict my positions and my views,â the statement said, adding: âUnited Jerusalem will remain Israelâs capital forever.â Members of Sharonâs former hardline Likud party said the remarks were the âfinal proofâ that, if elected, the premier planned to âdivideâ Jerusalem and that his new Kadima party was as left-wing or more so than the Labour Party. However, the former head of the Israeli Peace Now movement and new Labour Party member, Yariv Oppenheimer, said Sharonâs policies of the past years, which encouraged settlement construction throughout the West Bank and around East Jerusalem, proved otherwise. The December 5 issue of Newsweek paraphrased Gayer as saying that although Sharon was willing in theory to make those compromises, he did not believe the Palestinians would be able to deliver peace, and for their part make the necessary compromises, during his lifetime.
Posted by: Steve White 2005-12-15 |
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| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=137427 |