JERUSALEM - Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said yesterday he wants to remove nearly all the Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip without waiting for a peace deal, outlining his go-it-alone plan and prompting threats from far-right allies to bring down his government.
Sharon, for nearly three decades the most powerful patron of the settlement movement, told his Likud Party in a closed-door meeting yesterday that the 17 settlements he wants removed are a security burden and a source of continuous friction.
The prime minister's about-face was met by widespread skepticism, both from Palestinian leaders and Israeli politicians. Critics noted that Sharon's government has failed at a presumably easier task, the dismantling of dozens of small settlement outposts, as required by a U.S.-backed
peace plan.
Others said Sharon may be trying to deflect attention from his legal troubles. Sharon is to be questioned again by police Thursday in a widening
corruption probe.
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The Associated Press
