Sharon says Israel will abandon Gaza settlements

8.30am

JERUSALEM - Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said on Monday he planned to evacuate almost all of the Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip, dropping a political bombshell that stunned friends and foes alike.

"I have given the order to plan for the evacuation of 17 settlements in the Gaza Strip," the right-wing prime minister told the Haaretz newspaper.

"I am working on the assumption that in the future there will be no Jews in Gaza."

Sharon, once considered the godfather of the settlement movement, later told his pro-settler Likud party the proposal he will take to Washington later this month will also call for removing a smaller number of Jewish enclaves in the West Bank.

But he gave no time frame for uprooting settlements, one of the thorniest points of conflict with the Palestinians.

It was the first time Sharon had revealed plans for such a far-reaching withdrawal from territories Israel seized in the 1967 Middle East war, and sparked immediate outrage from settler leaders.

"I am in shock," Likud legislator Yehiel Hazan said.

Sharon's move appeared aimed at showing Washington he is serious about moving ahead with a disengagement strategy to remove some isolated settlements and draw a "security line" around others, absorbing large swathes of occupied land.

"Usually when the Israeli government speaks about evacuation of settlements, it aims only at public relations," Palestinian cabinet member Saeb Erekat told Reuters. "If Israel wants to leave Gaza... no Palestinian will stand in its way."

The surprise announcement came amid a surge in Israeli- Palestinian violence over the past week that has cast further doubt on the chances of reviving a US-backed peace "road map".

Despite the bloodshed, Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurie said preparations were under way for his first summit with Sharon since taking office in November.

Shortly after Qurie spoke, Sharon's words appeared on the Haaretz website, calling for evacuation of what he described as "problem" settlements in Gaza. His plan entails removal of all but two or three enclaves in the 360sq km strip where more than a million Palestinians live in poverty.

Opinion polls show a strong majority of Israelis willing to part with Gaza settlements. The largest concentration of settlers is in more than 120 enclaves in the West Bank.

"The prime minister intends to go to Washington with an offer of removing large chunks of settlements in Gaza and a smaller chunk in (the West Bank)," Likud legislator Michael Eitan told reporters after Sharon addressed a Likud meeting.

In excerpts from the interview, Sharon said his plan "has to be done with American agreement and support".

"We are talking of a population of 7500 people. It's not a simple matter. We are talking of thousands of square kilometres (miles) of hothouses, factories and packing plants," he said.

"The first thing is to ask their agreement, to reach an agreement with the residents... it's not a quick matter, especially if it's done under fire," he added.

Sharon had spoken in recent months only in vague terms about removing some of the more isolated settlements under a disengagement plan he has threatened to impose on the Palestinians should the "road map" fail.

He has made clear, however, that such an arrangement would leave Palestinians with less land than they seek for a state.

A Gaza settler spokesman called Sharon's comments "miserable" and vowed that the nationalist camp would work "to cut short Sharon's term as prime minister through legal means".

In violence early on Monday, a Palestinian militant who lost his legs and an arm to an Israeli tank shell a year ago battled soldiers who came to arrest him in a Gaza Strip raid that ended with him being killed along with three other gunmen.

Some 10,000 mourners, including dozens of gunmen firing into the air, later marched in funeral processions for the four gunmen. "Sharon, prepare body bags. Blood for blood," the crowd chanted.

- REUTERS