PM: I have given order to plan evacuation of 17 Gaza settlements

By Yoel Marcus, Haaretz Correspondent 2 February 2004
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/389939.html

[IMRA: ".These steps (unilateral disengagement from the Palestinians) will
be undertaken following exhaustive discussions between the coalition
parties, and with the full cooperation of our international allies, headed
by the United States.
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's Speech at the Special Debate in the Knesset 12
January 2004 (Official Translation). There is no indication when Mr. Sharon
intends to carry out these "exhaustive discussions between the coalition
parties".]

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon says he has given orders to plan for the removal
of 17 settlements in Gaza.

"I have given an order to plan for the evacuation of 17 settlements in the
Gaza Strip," Sharon said Monday in an interview with Haaretz columnist Yoel
Marcus.

"It is my intention to carry out an evacuation - sorry, a relocation - of
settlements that cause us problems and of places that we will not hold onto
anyway in a final settlement, like the Gaza settlements," the prime minister
added.

Sharon, who is likely to go public with his plan later Monday, also
mentioned the problematic nature of evacuating settlements in Gaza. "We are
talking of a population of 7,500 people. It's not a simple matter. We are
talking of thousands of square kilometers of hothouses, factories and
packing plants. People there who are third-generation. The first thing is to
ask their agreement, to reach an agreement with the residents. To move
thousands of dunams of hothouses, educational institutions, thousands and
thousands of vehicles, it's not a quick matter, especially if it's done
under fire."

"I am working on the assumption that in the future there will be no Jews in
Gaza," Sharon added.

Asked whether he intended presenting his plan to President George Bush
during his visit to Washington later this month, Sharon said: "Absolutely.
It has to be done with American agreement and support. We need their
support."

The prime minister said he had not yet discussed the issue of financing the
evacuation with the Americans. "But we will have to discuss (it) with them."

The full interview with Sharon will appear Tuesday in Haaretz.