(Ha'aretz) Yoel Marcus - Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said in an interview: The road map was a good plan because it's based on our approach that security comes before concessions. The problem is, with the Palestinians there's no way to move ahead using this formula. We haven't seen even the tiniest sign that they are doing anything to curb terror. That's why Bush is taking such a hard line toward the Palestinians. You know why there hasn't been a meeting with Abu Ala? Because he has no answer to terror and he's afraid I'll unload more cities on him. The demand that we make concessions without the Palestinians acting to stop terror is dangerous for Israel. It creates a vacuum that can't last forever. That's what made me adopt the separation strategy. It doesn't mean we've shut up shop on the road map. It means we're continuing to act with Bush's vision hovering over us. What we want to do is make it easier to defend ourselves. I intend to complete the fence and introduce measures that will cause as little suffering as possible for the Palestinian population.
2004-02-06 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive