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Israeli Opposition Leader Calls for Freeze on Settlement Activities
Israel's opposition leader Yossi Sarid on Monday urged the Israeli government to declare an immediate freeze on settlement activities without waiting for an end of Israeli-Palestinian conflicts.
Sarid, also leader of the left Meretz Party, told the Israeli radio that an absolute quiet of the conflicts is impossible so long as Israel remains as an "occupier."
"As long as we are the occupier and they (Palestinians) are the occupied, there will be no absolute quiet...therefore (Prime Minister) Ariel Sharon will need to make do with less than absolute quiet," he said.
"So Sharon and his government would be well-served, here and now, before all the pressures, to prepare themselves for a peace process, in the stage, with an absolute settlement freeze without maneuvers, without tricks," he added.
Both the U.S.-brokered ceasefire plan and the Mitchell report on ending Israeli-Palestinian conflicts stated that Israel must freeze its settlement activities as part of confidence-building measures for ending the conflicts.
Sharon, who is on a visit to the United States, will discuss the settlement freeze with U.S. President George W. Bush.
Commenting on reports that Bush would press Sharon to spell out specific commitments on the settlement freeze in their meeting, Israeli Justice Minister Meir Sheetrit said on Monday that the prime minister could not agree to any change in the settlement policy until Palestinian-linked violence ends.
"As long as the present situation of confrontation with the Palestinians continues, there is no intention whatsoever of evacuating any settlement, or change the situation in the settlements," he said.
Figures issued by Israel showed that it has 17 settlements in the Gaza Strip and 144 in the West Bank, and around 200,000 settlers live in the West Bank settlements alone.
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