|
|
| By: Israel Insider staff and partners |
| Published: August 17, 2005 |
| |
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on Wednesday defended his decision to give up the Gaza Strip, saying that while the images of settlers being dragged out of their homes were "heartbreaking," the pullout would make Israel more secure and help it hang on to large West Bank settlement blocs.
Sharon, once the most powerful patron of the Jewish settlement movement, told settlers their presence in Gaza, among some 1.3 million Palestinians, had not been in vain.
Speaking at a joint news conference with Israeli President Moshe Katsav, he also urged settlers not to attack police and soldiers verbally or physically.
"I'm appealing to everyone. Don't attack the men and women in uniform. Don't accuse them. Don't make it harder for them, don't harm them. Attack me. I am responsible for this. Attack me. Accuse me," Sharon said.
Katsav cut in to correct the prime minister's choice of words. "You mean criticize, not attack," Katsav admonished. Sharon did not respond. Israeli security forces have warned that Sharon, like his slain predecessor Yitzhak Rabin, could be targeted by extremists.
Sharon said he was moved by TV images of the Gaza pullout, and praised settlers and troops.
"The pictures we see are heartbreaking, they are also breaking my heart," he said. "But I have to say to the residents, with all the difficulties and terrible pain they are facing ... they are acting in a respectable restrained manner. They are making a great effort so that the evacuation will proceed quietly."
Sharon said the pullout from Gaza did not mean the settlement movement had failed. "I think it is important that they (Gaza settlers) know that what they did was not in vain," Sharon said. "There are certainly great achievements, with the big (West Bank) settlement blocs that will remain in Israeli hands. They will remain territorially linked to Israel."
The prime minister said settlers had to adjust to changing realities.
"True, they had a dream, and I did too, that can we hold on to all the territory, or most of the territory. But things have changed," he said.
Sharon defended his decision to withdraw from the Gaza Strip and part of the West Bank, saying he did it for the good of Israel. "I believe with all these difficulties, Israel will come out stronger," he said.
Sharon acknowledged that the Palestinian security forces have managed to control militants in recent days. However, he added: "We have to remain on guard, and I hope they (the Palestinians) will understand that to make progress on the road map, they have to halt terror completely. Israel will not compromise on this issue." |
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
Click on the blue headline to read a Talkback comment and respond to it. Click on the  icon to send a private email to the talkback writer. The icon appears only if the writer has decided to be contacted. If no popup window appears, please make sure your popup blocker allows israelinsider.com.
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
