Olmert backs settlements
2006-03-14 12:29
Ariel - Interim Israeli Prime
Minister Ehud Olmert vowed on Tuesday never to give up a major
Jewish settlement in the heart of the occupied West Bank, a move
that might help blunt settler anger ahead of March 28 elections.
"I want to be clear on this, the Ariel block will be an
inseparable part of the state of Israel under any situation,"
Olmert told settlers and reporters at the Ariel settlement about
60km north of Jerusalem.
"By the end of the year we plan to finish the security
fence," he added, referring to a controversial barrier being
constructed in and around the West Bank.
Israel officially calls the 600km network of
fences and concrete barricades a security measure while
Palestinians dub it a land grab meant to pre-empt any future
border negotiations.
Olmert was visiting Ariel just days after he promised to
impose Israel's final borders by 2010 through pullouts from
parts of the West Bank if a Palestinian government being formed
by the militant group Hamas does not recognise Israel and
disarm.
Olmert, whose centrist Kadima party is expected to win the
most seats in the elections, has vowed to keep major settlement
blocks, including those closer to Jerusalem than Ariel.
Many settlers are upset at Olmert's plans to unilaterally
withdraw from smaller West Bank outposts from land they see as a
biblical birthright.
Palestinians see the settlements as a hated symbol of
occupation and one of the biggest obstacles to peace.
About 240 000 settlers live among 2.4 million Palestinians
in the West Bank. The World Court brands all the settlements
illegal, a position disputed by Israel.
Israel withdrew Jewish settlers and troops from the Gaza
Strip last year in a move that was highly popular among a
majority of Israelis.
- Reuters