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Bekijk Volledige Versie : Unilateral steps if Palestinians don't follow road map



Orakel
18-12-03, 19:52
Unilateral steps if Palestinians don't follow road map

By Haaretz Service and Agencies

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on Thursday pledged his commitment to the internationally-brokered road map to Middle East peace, and said that the implementation of the plan was both possible and necessary.

Speaking at the Herzliya Conference on issues of Israeli security, Sharon said, however, that Israel would "not wait indefinitely" for peace talks with the Palestinians, and said he would take unilateral steps if the Palestinians failed to stick to the road map.

"We are interested in conducting direct negotiations, but do not intend to hold Israeli society hostage in the hands of the Palestinians... We will not wait for them indefinitely," he said.

If there is no progress toward peace in a matter of months, Sharon said, "then Israel will initiate the unilateral security step to disengage from the Palestinians."

He said that the "disengagement" plan would involve the redeployment of Israel Defense Forces troops and changing the distribution of settlements to reduce the number of Israelis near centers of Palestinian population, and that uninhabited settlement outposts would be removed, "period."

The prime minister said that any measures would be coordinated with the United States, which received the contents of the address several hours before it was delivered.

In a meeting Wednesday with U.S. Congressmen, Sharon said he was committed to the road map, with the 14 Israeli reservations, and would make an effort to move it forward, taking unilateral steps that would add to security and make life easier for the Palestinians if required.

Hmm, maakt ie nu eindelijk ernst met de roadmap of stelt ie nou gewoon een ultimatum?