Print | Email  

Sharon angry over statement

Last updated: 2004-08-13

Ariel Sharon

Ariel Sharon

Aides to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon say he is furious after a senior official said Israel will have to remove more Jewish settlements from the West Bank than planned under the government's disengagement plan.

Aides to Mr. Sharon spoke to reporters Thursday, after Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Israel will have to remove more settlements to ease international pressure.

But Mr. Olmert later told Israeli public television additional removals will not take place "in the near future."

Under the plan, Mr. Sharon has called for the withdrawal of all Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip and four small outposts in the West Bank by the end of next year.

Separately, Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia has condemned Wednesday's car bombing that killed two Palestinians at an Israeli checkpoint near Jerusalem. A Palestinian militant group claimed responsibility for the attack.

Story supplied by: VOAnews