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Sharon's Last Interview

(Ynet News) Ronen Bodoni - Prime Minister Sharon gave the Japanese newspaper Nikkei an interview just one day before suffering a massive stroke. * Q: Is it possible for the Palestinians to share the capital? Sharon: Our position is that Jerusalem is not negotiable. We are not going to negotiate on Jerusalem. Jerusalem will be forever a united and undivided capital of Israel. * Q: Do you think it will go down in history that the Palestinians missed an opportunity at Camp David when it declined former Israeli PM Ehud Barak's proposal to divide Jerusalem? Sharon: No, I don't think that practically they could have done that. I don't think the Jewish people are ready to divide Jerusalem and I believe the Palestinians made many mistakes but mainly as a result of terror and murder and bloodshed. I took a hard and painful step in the disengagement, but after we left Gaza, terror did not stop. I saw that after disengagement terror didn't stop. * Q: Do you have any vision of a unilateral disengagement plan for the West Bank similar to what you have in the Gaza Strip? Sharon: No, no, the answer is no. In Samaria and Judea (West Bank) there is a plan that is the Road Map. We are not going to face now, also not in the future, any unilateral disengagement. * Q: In 1981, then Israeli PM Menachem Begin launched air strikes against Iraq in order to prevent Iraqi nuclear development. Facing an imminent nuclear threat from Iran, will you act like Mr. Begin did in 1981 if we reach the critical point and the diplomatic solution is not working? Sharon: I was then a member of that cabinet when the decision was taken and I had an important role in making this decision then in 1981. First I believe there were different circumstances then. I believe we are still in the phase of diplomatic efforts. Iran should be brought to the Security Council and I believe we are in a phase where sanctions can be taken and we can still stop it. * Q: Do you think the Golan Heights will stay under Israeli sovereignty forever? Sharon: I don't see any situation where Israel will not be sitting on the Golan Heights. For 19 years the northern part of Israel was under a heavy war of attrition. We are not going to return to this situation, although Israel will never attack Syria.
2006-01-09 00:00:00
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