Post by Salem6 on Feb 6, 2004 18:48:56 GMT
Israel is considering plans to move Gaza Strip settlers to the West Bank, a government spokesman has said.
It is one of the options under discussion as part of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's unilateral disengagement from Palestinian territories, he said.
Mr Sharon says he is committed to see the plans through
On Monday Mr Sharon announced a plan to uproot 17 of the 21 Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip.
A few hundred Gaza settlers protested outside Mr Sharon's desert ranch near Gaza's border on Friday.
Israeli polls indicate the plan has boosted Mr Sharon - but on Thursday he was questioned by police investigating a bribery case.
Click here to see map of Gaza settlements
Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei said it was unacceptable to move Gaza settlers to the West Bank.
Mr Sharon will reportedly present the rough outline of his "unilateral disengagement plan" during a trip to Washington planned for the end of February or the start of March.
The details will be finalised in two to three months, said his spokesman, Assaf Shariv, who did not discuss the other options under consideration.
About 7,500 people live in 17 Jewish settlements in Gaza
The proposals have outraged Mr Sharon's right-wing and settler supporters, some of whom accuse him of timing the announcement with police inquiries into allegations that a real estate developer bribed him.
Mr Sharon, who has supported settlement building on land Israel occupied in the 1967 Middle East war, has denied any self-serving motive behind the timing.
The Israeli press was largely sceptical about the proposals, but polls show a subsequent surge in support for Mr Sharon.
A poll in the mass circulation Maariv daily showed that 39% of those surveyed after Monday's proposal were satisfied with Mr Sharon's performance as prime minister compared with a record low of 33% the previous week.
It is one of the options under discussion as part of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's unilateral disengagement from Palestinian territories, he said.
Mr Sharon says he is committed to see the plans through
On Monday Mr Sharon announced a plan to uproot 17 of the 21 Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip.
A few hundred Gaza settlers protested outside Mr Sharon's desert ranch near Gaza's border on Friday.
Israeli polls indicate the plan has boosted Mr Sharon - but on Thursday he was questioned by police investigating a bribery case.
Click here to see map of Gaza settlements
Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei said it was unacceptable to move Gaza settlers to the West Bank.
Mr Sharon will reportedly present the rough outline of his "unilateral disengagement plan" during a trip to Washington planned for the end of February or the start of March.
The details will be finalised in two to three months, said his spokesman, Assaf Shariv, who did not discuss the other options under consideration.
About 7,500 people live in 17 Jewish settlements in Gaza
The proposals have outraged Mr Sharon's right-wing and settler supporters, some of whom accuse him of timing the announcement with police inquiries into allegations that a real estate developer bribed him.
Mr Sharon, who has supported settlement building on land Israel occupied in the 1967 Middle East war, has denied any self-serving motive behind the timing.
The Israeli press was largely sceptical about the proposals, but polls show a subsequent surge in support for Mr Sharon.
A poll in the mass circulation Maariv daily showed that 39% of those surveyed after Monday's proposal were satisfied with Mr Sharon's performance as prime minister compared with a record low of 33% the previous week.