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AP: Israeli Talks Settlement Withdrawal
Follow-up, EFL JERUSALEM (AP) - Israel may soon be compelled to dismantle a ``considerableââ number of Jewish settlements and draw a border around the rest, Israelâs vice premier told The Associated Press on Thursday - a go-it-alone approach he suggested has Prime Minister Ariel Sharonâs tacit backing. Such talk by Vice Premier Ehud Olmert about the West Bank and Gaza Strip is increasingly spooking the Palestinians, who fear they will end up with much less land than in a negotiated agreement. Whaddya know, it kinda does look that way on a map. Israel has said it would keep chasing militants until Palestinian security forces crack down themselves - as required by the U.S.-backed ``road mapââ peace plan. However, Qureia has said he cannot use force against Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other groups for fear of sparking civil war. "Theyâll kill me!" Olmert told AP in an interview Thursday that there cannot be a peace deal without such a clampdown, and that time is running out. ``If there is no agreement, I believe it is incumbent on Israel to take unilateral steps and to create a unilateral separation between us and the Palestinians,ââ said Olmert, a Sharon confidante. Israel will ``definitelyââ not withdraw to the 1967 lines, and will also keep ``the united city of Jerusalem,ââ Olmert said. Bus is leaving, Yasser. ``But it will be a lot different from the reality that exists today,ââ he said, adding that most Palestinians would no longer live under Israeli rule. Referring to a new border, he said that while it would include some major settlements, ``a considerable amount of settlements and a considerable number of people will have to move into different areas.ââ That has to be painful for Sharon. Olmert said he was not sending up a trial balloon for Sharon, but that ``if you ask me if the general direction of the prime minister is similar to mine, the answer is yes.ââ A removal of settlements would be a dramatic departure for Sharon, who has been the settler movementâs leading patron for a quarter century. In recent days, Olmert has defended his plan against harsh criticism from Sharonâs Likud Party, but the prime minister has not joined in the attack. Instead, Sharon has spoken repeatedly about possible unilateral moves, and is to deliver a major policy speech at a conference on national security next week. Looks like security trumps settlements. Olmert said it is up to the Palestinians to decide whether they want to Bus just honked its horn, Yasser. Qureia, the Palestinian prime minister, warned that it would be ``a terrible mistake to try to impose a solution on us by force.ââ However, Qureia appears to be in an increasingly weak position. He started from an increasingly weak position. How can anyone tell whether heâs weaker? Only way to know for sure is if he suddenly stops breathing. He has failed to win a promise by militants to halt attacks on Israelis. They have told him they want to hear from Israel first whether it is willing to halt all military operations, including targeted killings of Since that worked so well in the past. Posted by: Steve White 2003-12-12 |
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