Middle EastFacing angry opposition from his longtime settler allies, the Israeli Prime Minister, Mr Ariel Sharon, said yesterday he was determined to go ahead with his plan to remove some Jewish settlements, even if it was "very painful" to him, because it was vital to the country's future.
"Not only is this difficult for the settlers, the matter is more painful to me than anyone else," Mr Sharon said, in his first public remarks since telling the Haaretz newspaper on Monday that he had given orders to draw up a plan for the evacuation of 17 out of the 21 settlements in the Gaza Strip.
As the one who shouldered the responsibility for Israel's security, Mr Sharon said, he had "reached a decision and I am going to carry it out." On Monday he told members of his own party that the Gaza settlements were a "security burden".
Mr Sharon, who has said he will take unilateral steps if there is no progress in talks with the Palestinians, also told Haaretz he planned to remove three "problematic" West Bank settlements, along with the 17 Gaza settlements, in the next one to two years. His deputy, Mr Ehud Olmert, was quoted as saying the plan could start going into effect as early as the summer.
Settler leaders, who for years have viewed Mr Sharon as their political patron, vowed to work to topple him, while two ultra-nationalist parties in his ruling coalition threatened to do the same if the prime minister proceeded with his plan.
While opposition Labour Party politicians continued to pour doubt on whether Mr Sharon would turn his declarations into actions, the Labour leader, Mr Shimon Peres, pledged yesterday that, if he did, his party would back the prime minister in the parliament, ensuring he was not toppled.
Mr Peres, however, stopped short of saying his party would join a national unity government.
The Palestinian Authority Prime Minister, Mr Ahmed Korei, said the Gaza plan was "good news for us". But he added that "a real peace" would only be possible if a Gaza pullout was followed by an Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank.