agreed, and that in my opinion is Israel's greatest failing. Most Israelis would give up most of the settlements (aside from the suburban blocks around Jerusalem and a few others) as part of a final deal, and point to the Barak administration's proposals at Camp David and Taba as proof of their good faith. But if you're on the other side, and aren't inclined to trust the Israelis, then the constant low-grade settlement expansion seems evidence of a quite different plan. Statements like this one by Sharon, moreover, are not, how shall one say, helpful:
haaretzdaily.com
Sunday, April 21, 2002 Iyyar 9, 5762 Israel Time: 17:35 (GMT+3)
Last update - 15:38 21/04/2002
Sharon: My government will never evacuate the settlements
By Gideon Alon, Ha'aretz Correspondent
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon told the weekly cabinet meeting Sunday that a government headed by him would never evacuate settlements, especially not isolated settlements, at least until the next general elections.
The prime minister, banging on the table for emphasis, added that the government would not even discuss evacuating the settlements until the elections, set for October 2003, and possibly even beyond that should he be elected for a second term.
Sharon was responding to a question by Minister without Portfolio Ra'anan Cohen who asked the prime minister why he did not adopt the recommendations of senior IDF officers on the matter of evacuating the isolated settlements. Cohen quoted from a report on Channel 2's weekend news edition that claimed top officers in the General Staff were in favor of evacuating such settlements, especially those in the Gush Katif bloc in the Gaza Strip, saying that they were a security liability.
Cohen reacted to Sharon's answer by saying, "I understand that this is the political vision of the Israeli government."
Likud ministers said at the end of the meting that Sharon believes that the Labor Party will "cope" with this declaration as it did the appointment of right-winger Effi Eitam as a cabinet minister and will not follow through on its threats to quit the coalition government. "Sharon apparently has accepted the fact that Labor ministers will one day leave the government, and so he brought in Gesher and the National Religious Party," said one minister.
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