Israel says thousands of settlers may be moved

11.45am


JERUSALEM - Tens of thousands of Jewish settlers might have to move if a peace plan fails and Israel starts unilateral measures to separate from the Palestinians, says a top Israeli government official.

Settlers are outraged at a plan set out by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, their champion for decades, to move some settlements for security reasons but hold onto chunks of occupied territory where Palestinians seek a state.

Underscoring more than three years of bloodshed, Palestinian medics said a six-year-old boy was shot dead during clashes between Israeli troops and stone-throwers in the West Bank city of Nablus. A top militant was arrested there earlier.

Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Israel was committed to a United States-backed peace "road map", but if that failed, then steps would be taken that involved moving settlers and the number would probably be "in the tens of thousands".

"I don't think I am ready to go into specific numbers but there will be a considerable number of Jewish inhabitants in the territories who will have to move and a considerable number of settlements," Olmert said.

There are at least 230,000 settlers among 3.6 million Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Palestinians see the settlements as the main obstacle to a viable state, but they also oppose Israel's "Disengagement Plan" -- under which Sharon has said they would get less land than they might through talks.

The settlements are largely viewed as illegal under international law. Israel disputes this.

Officials from both sides said more high-level discussions were due midweek to prepare the ground for a meeting between Sharon and his Palestinian counterpart Ahmed Qurie.

A meeting between the premiers is widely seen as essential for pushing forward with the road map, which is meant to give the Palestinians a state by 2005 on land that Israel has occupied since the 1967 Middle East war.

Qurie has said he would only meet Sharon if work halted on the giant barrier Israel is building through the West Bank. Israelis say they need it to keep out suicide bombers, but Palestinians call it a land grab.

Sharon said last week that work would be speeded up on the wire and concrete barrier, despite concerns from his main US ally over a planned route cutting deep into the West Bank.

Israel has demanded that Palestinians crack down on militants as a road map commitment, while Sharon has said Israel would meet its part of the deal by freezing settlement growth, removing outposts and easing restrictions on Palestinians.

"If they really want us to implement the road map, they should do it with us. They must stop settlement activities and the wall," Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat told Reuters.

In a sign that the Israelis had little immediate expectation of Palestinian action on militants, troops seized a top official of the Islamic Hamas group, behind a suicide bombing campaign, during a swoop in Nablus before dawn on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Sharon came under fresh domestic pressure to resume peace talks when 13 reserve fighters from Israel's most elite commando unit said they would refuse to serve in the West Bank and Gaza because the army's actions there were immoral.

In Nablus, Palestinian medics said six-year-old Mohammad Naim Isryda was shot dead during clashes between troops and stone-throwers. An Israeli military source said that soldiers opened fire after an explosive device was hurled at them.

- REUTERS