Sharon crushes calls for delay on Gaza pullout

JERUSALEM – Prime Minister Ariel Sharon yesterday crushed calls from ministers to delay Israel’s pullout from Gaza, insisting there were no grounds whatsoever to delay the withdrawal despite an upsurge of violence.

“There are those who hope that the disengagement will not be carried out. I want to say unequivocally that it will be carried out on schedule,” Sharon told a meeting of the ministerial commission tasked with planning the pullout.”No activity of any kind, including illegal activity, will delay the implementation of the disengagement plan.Israel will leave Gaza and northern Samaria (West Bank),” he added.His call followed criticism from Health Minister Danny Naveh, a traditional Sharon ally, who said Israel could not uproot all 8 000 Jewish settlers from the Gaza Strip this summer under militant fire.On Tuesday, five Palestinians and a Chinese labourer were killed in the West Bank and Gaza Strip on the deadliest day in the occupied Palestinian territories since the start of a de facto truce by militant groups in January.Following the fatal shooting of three Palestinians by Israeli forces, militants attacked Jewish settlements in southern Gaza, killing two Palestinians and the Chinese worker.Naveh said Israel had done its bit to bolster the position of the moderate Palestinian leader, Mahmud Abbas, and that it was high time he responded by reining in militants such as the Islamist movement Hamas.Sharon, however, forged ahead with his project, opening the ministerial commission tasked with planning the pullout to the media for the first time.He dismissed accusations of a lack of readiness for the disengagement and warned opponents against inciting obstruction to the plans.- Nampa-AFPI want to say unequivocally that it will be carried out on schedule,” Sharon told a meeting of the ministerial commission tasked with planning the pullout.”No activity of any kind, including illegal activity, will delay the implementation of the disengagement plan.Israel will leave Gaza and northern Samaria (West Bank),” he added.His call followed criticism from Health Minister Danny Naveh, a traditional Sharon ally, who said Israel could not uproot all 8 000 Jewish settlers from the Gaza Strip this summer under militant fire.On Tuesday, five Palestinians and a Chinese labourer were killed in the West Bank and Gaza Strip on the deadliest day in the occupied Palestinian territories since the start of a de facto truce by militant groups in January.Following the fatal shooting of three Palestinians by Israeli forces, militants attacked Jewish settlements in southern Gaza, killing two Palestinians and the Chinese worker.Naveh said Israel had done its bit to bolster the position of the moderate Palestinian leader, Mahmud Abbas, and that it was high time he responded by reining in militants such as the Islamist movement Hamas.Sharon, however, forged ahead with his project, opening the ministerial commission tasked with planning the pullout to the media for the first time.He dismissed accusations of a lack of readiness for the disengagement and warned opponents against inciting obstruction to the plans.- Nampa-AFP