Palestinian Prime Minister urges US to reject Sharon Gaza plan

15 Feb, 2004

Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurie urged the United States on Saturday not to support a unilateral Israeli proposal to uproot most Jewish settlements from the Gaza Strip.
"It will be regrettable if the American administration supports unilateral steps," Qurie told reporters in the West Bank city of Ramallah after a Palestinian cabinet session. He said he would be "worried and upset" by such a decision.
Palestinian officials have said they fear Sharon is planning to remove settlements from Gaza only to strengthen other settlements in the West Bank. Palestinians want all Jewish settlements in Gaza and the West Bank to be dismantled.
Diplomats said on Friday that Washington would send envoys to Israel next week for talks before deciding whether to back Sharon's settlement proposal - part of a go-it-alone plan he has vowed to impose on the Palestinians if a US-backed peace "road map" remains stalled.
Sharon, a godfather of settlement-building on land Israel occupied in the 1967 Middle East War, has made clear his unilateral plan would leave Palestinians with less territory than they are seeking for a state.
US officials have commented favourably on the idea of uprooting settlements but have stopped short of embracing Sharon's unilateral approach for fear that it would bury the already battered "road map".
Some 7,500 Jewish settlers live in heavily guarded enclaves in the Gaza Strip, home to more than one million Palestinians.
The high-level US delegation visiting Israel next week will seek Israel's commitment to the "road map", a series of steps towards a negotiated peace deal.
It is also expected to ask Sharon to change the route of a West Bank barrier Israel is building so that it annexes less of the land Palestinians want for a future state.
Israel says the line of metal fencing and concrete walls is meant to stop suicide bombers and has already thwarted dozens of attacks. Palestinians condemn the project as a land grab.
White House spokesman Scott McClellan said on Friday that Washington wanted a negotiated final settlement between Israel and the Palestinians.
"But some Israeli moves to disengage by removing settlements could reduce friction between Israelis and Palestinians, improve Palestinian freedom of movement and address some of Israel's responsibilities in moving ahead toward the vision described by the president in his June 24, 2002 speech," McClennan said.

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