Israel to Evacuate Gaza Settlements

Sharon, considered the father of the settlement movement, later told his pro-settler Likud party that he would take the proposal to Washington later this month. The proposal also includes removal of a smaller number of Jewish enclaves in the West Bank.

But he gave no time frame for uprooting settlements, one of the thorniest points of conflict with the Palestinians. “I don’t know if it will be done in one go, or gradually, but over the course of time, it will not be right to continue Jewish settlement in Gaza,” a Likud official quoted Sharon as telling the legislators. Sharon referred to Jewish settlement in Gaza as “a security burden and a source of continuous friction,” said the official.

The prime minister has said in recent weeks he would take unilateral steps, including removing some settlements and imposing a boundary on the Palestinians, if there is no progress in stalled peace efforts by this summer.

Sharon’s plan was met by widespread skepticism in Israel and the Palestinian areas. Moderate and ultra-nationalist Israeli legislators alike said they found it difficult to believe Sharon, a patron of the settlement movement for years, would take action against a core constituency and risk the fall of his center-right coalition. Some suggested Sharon was trying to deflect attention from corruption probes against him.

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat also expressed disbelief. “Seventeen? What, so they can replace them with another170 ?” he asked.

Sharon’s move appeared aimed at showing Washington he is serious about moving ahead with a disengagement strategy to remove some isolated settlements and draw a “security line” around others, absorbing large swathes of occupied land.

“Usually when the Israeli government speaks about evacuation of settlements, it aims only at public relations,” Palestinian Cabinet member Saeb Erekat said. “If Israel wants to leave Gaza… no Palestinian will stand in its way.”

Jewish settler leaders in the Gaza Strip vowed to do everything in their power to bring down Sharon’s government if he tried to carry out the plan.

“The Regional Council of Settlers in the Gaza Strip expresses its regrets following these unfortunate proposals,” they said in a statement. “The settlers will not shy away from any effort, with other elements of the nationalist camp, to cut short the mandate of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon by any possible legal means.”