(Jerusalem Post)Herb Keinon and David Horovitz - The security fence is not the country's final border, and settlers on the "other side" of the barrier should not fear they will necessarily be moved, Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said Sunday. Shalom said the government has made clear that "the fence is not a political route, not a route that will tell us or others where the border will run. If that were the case, many of us would not accept it, and much of the international community wouldn't accept it either. We have said more than once this is only a temporary, preventive measure." Shalom's remarks came after Elliot Abrams, the White House's chief Middle East specialist, was quoted as telling a group of Jewish organizational leaders that eventually all the settlements beyond the fence will be dismantled. Shalom said the U.S. has never accepted the idea of settlements in the territories, and that the settlers went to live in those areas "knowing that the Israeli government took the decision to settle them there, not because the Americans gave any approval."
2004-12-20 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive