Tuesday, February 15, for its plans to sell advanced missiles to neighboring Syria, saying these weapons could end up "in the hands of terrorist groups", including those in Lebanon, and destabilize the region.
Sharon made the remarks in talks with foreign journalists in Jerusalem, a day after a bomb blast killed former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al Hariri, a Sunni Muslim, who had ties with Islamic groups and Christians.
Asked if Israel was responsible for Monday’s blast, Sharon said the question "does not deserve an answer," and he urged Syria to withdraw its forces from Lebanon. He stressed he had written to Russia’s President Vladimir Putin to abandon his planned arms sale which he believes could threaten Israel’s security, but said the Russian leader apparently decided to go ahead anyway.
"Obviously we are not happy with it," Sharon said. Despite the latest tensions, the Israeli leader suggested his country wanted to send a signal to the Arab world and Palestinians that it will continue to search for peace. He therefore urged Jewish settlers, who he had long supported, to respect his decision to go ahead with a controversial Gaza Strip pullout plan despite virulent opposition.
SETTLERS COMPENSATION
His government reportedly works on a bill to compensate settlers before parliament, and unveiling plans for a new town in the desert. "It was a very difficult and painful decision," Sharon explained, "but I had to do it in the interest of Israel."
However he warned Palestinians that Israel "will not leave under fire" and that it was up to the
Palestinian Authority to ensure a peaceful withdrawal by Israeli forces and Jewish settlers. "Our
response can [otherwise] be very harsh," he added.
Sharon reacted with laughter when asked whether he will fire his foreign minister Silvan Shalom, who criticized the ‘disengagement plan’ and proposed that Israel vote on the pull out in a referendum.
NO DISMISSAL
"We don’t fire everyday in Israel," said Sharon, who has refused to accept a referendum. "Minister Shalom carries out the policy of the government," he added. Sharon said United States President George W. Bush had been instrumental in the pull out plan as it was "not possible to negotiate with the Palestinians when they were under the control of Yasser Arafat."
Besides a minister and Jewish settlers, influential evangelical allies of Israel have also criticized the plan. Last year American television evangelist Pat Robertson, said in Israel that "only God could decide on transfers of Biblical lands."
"God says, ‘I’m going to judge those who carve up the West Bank and Gaza Strip,’" Robertson added. ‘ "It’s my land and keep your hands off it,’" Robertson said in October when he joined thousands of Christians on an annual pilgrimage for Israel.
On Tuesday, February 15, Sharon maintained however that these measures are needed to end decades of mistrust between Palestinians and Israelis. But he urged the Arab world to stop blaming Israel for the occupation of Palestinian areas. "The first occupation was not done by Israel, but by [about] seven countries during the 1967 war for independence," the prime minister said.
(With: Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent, BosNewsLife, BosNewsLife News Center).
