Sharon says new party will work to set borders

JERUSALEM - Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, in his first public address since quitting his Likud yesterday, said the party he plans to form would work to set permanent borders between Israel and the Palestinians.

Saying that he left Likud "after many doubts", Sharon reiterated that he had no further plans for withdrawing from land unilaterally as he did from the occupied Gaza Strip this year in the face of rebellion from Likud hardliners.

But he said that some West Bank settlements would eventually have to be removed once a US-backed "road map" for Palestinian statehood is completed. He added that unauthorised settler outposts would also be removed.

"We will work to set the permanent border of the nation while insisting on the dismantling of terrorist groups," Sharon told a news conference.

"The new movement we are setting up today will serve the people of Israel for many years ... Our path will give Israel real hope ... for stable government, prosperity, quiet and peace." Sharon, with a relaxed smile, said he had already been joined by 14 "courageous people" in the new party, but he did not say who they were or whether they were all from Likud.

- REUTERS