Daily Alert Archives

Sharon: After Disengagement, No More Settlement Evacuations Until Terror Stops

(Jerusalem Post) Amotz Asa-El, Herb Keinon, and Gil Hoffman - New Year's Interview with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon Q: Are you saying that after disengagement there will be no more settlement evacuations until there is a Palestinian partner? Not until it is possible to enter negotiations on the basis of the road map. As long as the terror does not completely stop, as long as the [Palestinian] reforms are not carried out, and the terror organizations are not dismantled and their weapons not confiscated, there will be no additional course of action beyond this one. As long as we cannot get to a situation where negotiations are possible, nothing else is being discussed beyond the settlements in Gaza and the four in northern Samaria. A Palestinian state, when it emerges...will only emerge after the road map, after the terror ends. Q: Regarding the fence, what do you make of the International Court of Justice's ruling? It was a grave, politically motivated ruling, and we do not obey it. Q: A resolution for sanctions will likely return for a vote in the General Assembly. This only shows us that those who think the Jewish struggle for the existence of an independent Jewish state in the Jewish homeland has stopped are mistaken. Jews will need to continue to fight for their existence in the State of Israel. When it comes to the security of Israel, only we will decide on this matter, and no one else can determine the security needs for Israel, only Israel. It would have been better if we could have built the fence farther east than where we built it. The Jewish settlements will all be protected, in some cases as part of blocs, and in other cases as lone settlements. I don't see the possibility of Jews not living in Shiloh or Beit El, or not controlling Rachel's Tomb or living in Hebron. The situation in Gaza is more difficult....The areas of Judea and Samaria are strategically more vital. It was impossible to include hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in enclaves inside the fence. Q: Is there anything to talk about with the current Syrian regime? If their intention is real, the first thing they have to do is dismantle the terror headquarters, stop allowing the training of terrorist organizations on Syrian soil, and kick out the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. In order to show that their intentions are true, and not only a public-relations trick to reduce American pressure, they have plenty to do.
2004-09-15 00:00:00
Full Article