Israel mulls moving settlers
Sharon -- who announced earlier in the week plans to dismantle 17 Gaza Strip settlements and some West Bank communities in the next two years -- is looking at several options and will present them to US officials, spokesman Assaf Shariv said.
Sharon's ideas have outraged his traditional right-wing and settler supporters, some of whom accuse him of timing the announcement with a bribery investigation.
Police questioned Sharon for a second time Thursday, and Israeli media reported that the top investigator believes there is not enough evidence to indict the prime minister.
Sharon's "disengagement plan" won't be complete for another two to three months, and moving Gaza settlers to the West Bank is one of several options being considered, Shariv said.
Two US envoys are to arrive in Israel in the coming weeks to discuss the plan with Sharon, Shariv said. Later in February or in early March, Sharon hopes to travel to Washington to present his ideas to President Bush.
Vice Premier Ehud Olmert, Sharon's top deputy, said he told Secretary of State Colin Powell during a meeting in Washington on Thursday that Sharon's "disengagement plan" would not come in place of a peace deal that would include the establishment of a Palestinian state in some of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
A survey found that 52 percent of Israelis support dismantling all Gaza Strip settlements and 58 percent want to see isolated West Bank settlements removed. Thirty-six percent oppose the evacuation of Gaza settlements, while 31 percent oppose the removal of West Bank communities, according to the poll.
Sharon first made his ideas public in December, outlining a plan under which Israel would impose a boundary with the Palestinians. Sharon has said he will only move ahead if there is no progress on the US-backed "road map" peace plan.
Some 7,500 Jewish settlers live scattered among 1.3 million Palestinians in the crowded Gaza Strip.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. 
Comments