Israel's response to Palestinian violence after a pullout from the Gaza Strip would be even harsher than its present military operations, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said Tuesday.
Sharon's statement in a TV interview appeared aimed at reassuring critics of his "unilateral disengagement" plan, which includes withdrawal from all 21 Gaza settlements and four in the West Bank. Opponents say that would be a "reward for terrorism."
Sharon's Likud Party votes Sunday in a referendum on the Gaza plan, and polls predict a close outcome.
Protesting the plan, tens of thousands of Israelis streamed to Gush Katif, a bloc of Israeli settlements in the southern Gaza Strip, to celebrate Israel's independence day. Organizers said the turnout was surprisingly large. Many arrived in buses provided by the settler movement, while others, including many teenagers, marched along the heavily guarded road between Israel and the settlement bloc.
Sharon devoted his traditional independence day interviews on Israeli TV stations to urging recalcitrant party members to back his plan, warning of dire consequences if they vote it down.
After a pullout, Palestinians could no longer explain violence by saying that Israel was occupying their land, Sharon told Channel 10 TV, "and Israel's responses [to violence] would be much harsher."
He refused to give specifics, beyond noting that Israel is already taking stiff measures, an apparent reference to the killing of Hamas founder Sheik Ahmed Yassin on March 22 and his successor, Abdel Aziz Rantisi, three weeks later.
Hamas has been threatening punishing retaliatory attacks since Israel killed Yassin and Rantisi.
In the Channel 10 interview, Sharon warned Likud skeptics that rejecting the plan would also negate US guarantees that Israel could keep parts of the West Bank and deny entry to Palestinian refugees.
In an interview on Channel Two TV, Sharon said if the plan is voted down, "I would see it as a victory for [Palestinian leader Yasser] Arafat and Hamas. It would harm relations with the US and would damage the reputation of President Bush.''
However, many party members have difficulty digesting Sharon's sudden policy change -- he and the Likud have been the backbone of the settlement movement for decades.
Palestinians suspect Sharon's intention is to trade the tiny Gaza settlements for a permanent hold over large areas of the West Bank.
SEEKING CHANGE: A hospital worker said she did not vote in previous elections, but ‘now I can see that maybe my vote can change the system and the country’ Voting closed yesterday across the Solomon Islands in the south Pacific nation’s first general election since the government switched diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to Beijing and struck a secret security pact that has raised fears of the Chinese navy gaining a foothold in the region. The Solomon Islands’ closer relationship with China and a troubled domestic economy weighed on voters’ minds as they cast their ballots. As many as 420,000 registered voters had their say across 50 national seats. For the first time, the national vote also coincided with elections for eight of the 10 local governments. Esther Maeluma cast her vote in the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was