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Sharon in Knesset. (AP file)
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| By Israel Insider staff and partners August 29, 2005 |
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Not all settlements Israel currently maintains in the West Bank will remain in place in a final peace accord with the Palestinians, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said Monday.
Interviewed on Channel 10 TV in the wake of his eviction of settlers from all 21 settlements in the Gaza Strip and four in the West Bank, Sharon insisted that all of the main settlement blocs would remain under Israeli sovereignty, but "not all the settlements of today in Judea and Samaria will remain," referring to the West Bank by its biblical names.
Sharon said there would be no "second stage of disengagement," as he calls the pullout, either unilateral or coordinated. He said the next step must be negotiations under the "road map" peace plan that leads through three stages to a Palestinian state.
"This was a one-time action," Sharon said. "There is not another stage. There are no more stages of disengagement."
Sharon said the issue of Israel's borders could be raised only at the end of the blueprint. "The final map of the 'road map' will be determined in the last stage of the process."
Sharon blasted his party rival, Benjamin Netanyahu, who is expected to announce his candidacy this week to challenge Sharon for leadership of the Likud party.
Netanyahu resigned as finance minister days before the Gaza pullout, saying he could not take responsibility for it. This coincided with presentation of next year's budget to the Cabinet.
On both counts, Sharon said, Netanyahu displayed irresponsibility.
"It's irresponsible to run away a week before presenting the budget. I wouldn't trust such a man. After voting four times for the disengagement, he flinched and ducked responsibility -- he can't lead a country; definitely not a country like Israel. Composure is crucial."
"He panics and loses control. I've seen that more than once," Sharon said. "Someone who runs from responsibility ... cannot be trusted to run the country, certainly not a country like Israel."
"Israel is a unique country. In order to lead it you need to have common sense and nerves of steel. Netanyahu has neither," he said.
Sharon added: "I've seen dangerous things when Netanyahu was prime minister."
A source in Netanyahu's office responded tersely: "Sharon, out of hysteria, forgot that he had asked Netanyahu to come and save the Israeli economy."
Netanyahu is expected to declare his candidacy Tuesday.
Likud primaries on November 22?
The race for the Likud leadership is expected to be held in late November after the party's top internal court ruled in favor of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's opponents.
Sharon's rivals asked the court to set a date in September for the Likud central committee to convene and decide on holding the primary within 60 days. The court rejected the claims of Sharon's attorney that there were forged signatures on the petition demanding the meeting.
The court decided that the committee would meet for a debate on September 25 and a vote on September 26. The judges chose the dates because Sharon returns on September 20 or 22 from addressing the United Nations General Assembly.
Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz announced earlier that he had made a "strategic decision" to remain in the Likud and compete against Netanyahu if Sharon retires or leaves the party.
Sixty days after September 26 would be November 22.
The AP contributed to this report.
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