Sharon rules out further pullouts from West Bank

TEL AVIV – Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon ruled out another unilateral withdrawal from parts of the West Bank yesterday, saying his government remained committed to the troubled US-backed roadmap peace plan.

“We have no intention to even think about another plan apart from the roadmap, contrary to the rumours which were put about yesterday,” Sharon told a business conference in Tel Aviv. One of his advisors, Eyal Arad, had suggested on Wednesday that Israel might make a unilateral decision to fix the borders of the West Bank and annex parts of the territory it intends to retain if the peace process continued to stall.Israel recently completed its pullout from 21 settlements in the Gaza Strip and four small enclaves in the northern West Bank as part of Sharon’s controversial disengagement plan.The prime minister, under fire from former right-wing allies for the disengagement plan, has consistently said he has no other withdrawal plans up his sleeve.Sharon told the conference that “numerous ambassadors telephoned my office to obtain an explanation” following Arad’s comments.”There was also a very strong demand for an explanation from the United States, which was astonished by the possibility of a change in the Israeli position and of the agreement that was reached on the roadmap.””We have made a big effort to calm things down and reaffirm that the roadmap is the only plan that has our support.”The roadmap, which targets the creation of a Palestinian state alongside a secure Israel, was endorsed by the Israelis and Palestinians more than two years ago.It has made little progress in the interim, amid mutual accusations that each side is breaking its commitments, which include a halt to violence and a freeze of settlement activity.Sharon had partially justified his decision to pull out of Gaza on the basis that he had no partner on the Palestinian side.Since the death of his arch enemy Yasser Arafat last November he has, however, met with the new Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas on two occasions.- Nampa-AFPOne of his advisors, Eyal Arad, had suggested on Wednesday that Israel might make a unilateral decision to fix the borders of the West Bank and annex parts of the territory it intends to retain if the peace process continued to stall.Israel recently completed its pullout from 21 settlements in the Gaza Strip and four small enclaves in the northern West Bank as part of Sharon’s controversial disengagement plan.The prime minister, under fire from former right-wing allies for the disengagement plan, has consistently said he has no other withdrawal plans up his sleeve.Sharon told the conference that “numerous ambassadors telephoned my office to obtain an explanation” following Arad’s comments.”There was also a very strong demand for an explanation from the United States, which was astonished by the possibility of a change in the Israeli position and of the agreement that was reached on the roadmap.””We have made a big effort to calm things down and reaffirm that the roadmap is the only plan that has our support.”The roadmap, which targets the creation of a Palestinian state alongside a secure Israel, was endorsed by the Israelis and Palestinians more than two years ago.It has made little progress in the interim, amid mutual accusations that each side is breaking its commitments, which include a halt to violence and a freeze of settlement activity.Sharon had partially justified his decision to pull out of Gaza on the basis that he had no partner on the Palestinian side.Since the death of his arch enemy Yasser Arafat last November he has, however, met with the new Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas on two occasions.- Nampa-AFP

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