Olmert declares key settlement part of Israel

Ariel (West Bank), Mar 14: Interim Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert vowed today (Mar 14, 2006) 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.

Olmert said settlers forced to leave isolated West Bank enclaves under his plan to impose Israel's final borders by 2010 would be moved to major blocks the Jewish state intends to keep.

Palestinians see the settlements as a hated symbol of occupation and one of the biggest obstacles to peace.

''I want to be clear on this, the Ariel block will be an inseparable part of the state of Israel under any situation,'' Olmert said at the Ariel settlement, about 60 km north of Jerusalem.

''If there are communities in places where they cannot remain, they will be relocated to places like this and will receive all the necessary support.'' Olmert was visiting Ariel just days after he promised to set Israel's final borders 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.

His centrist Kadima party is expected to win the most seats in the general elections.

Many settlers are upset at Olmert's plans to unilaterally withdraw from smaller outposts from land they see as a biblical birthright. Most settlement blocks are closer to Jerusalem.

Olmert said he would hold talks with settlers in the West Bank before any pullout to reach an understanding.

''We will not remain in places that offer us no utility...,'' he said.

Israel unilaterally withdrew Jewish settlers and troops from the Gaza Strip last year after 38 years of occupation in a move that was highly popular among a majority of Israelis.

Olmert also said he planned to finish a controversial security fence being constructed in and around the West Bank by the end of the year.

Israel officially calls the 600-km (370-mile) 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 has said he would give a Palestinian Authority led by Hamas a ''reasonable'' amount of time to reform, disarm and embrace past interim peace agreements.

Hamas is forming a government after a sweeping win in Palestinian parliamentary elections on January. 25.

''Our goal is to hold negotiations on the basis of the road map, but we cannot be held hostage by anyone,'' Olmert said, referring to a U.S.-backed peace ''road map'', which calls for both sides to take steps to reach a negotiated settlement.

Hamas is sworn to the Jewish state's destruction and has carried out nearly 60 suicide bombings against Israelis since a Palestinian uprising began in 2000. The militant group says talks with Israel would be a waste of time.

About 240,000 settlers live among 2.4 million Palestinians in the West Bank. Palestinians want all of the West Bank and Gaza, captured by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war, for a state. The World Court brands all the settlements illegal, a position disputed by Israel.

REUTERS

Related Stories