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| Olmert Vows to Retain Major West Bank Settlement Blocs |
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Israel's acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said on Tuesday that he intends to hold on to all major settlement blocs in the West Bank as well as the Jordan Valley, indicating how Israel plans to draw its final borders with the Palestinians, the Jerusalem Post reported. Olmert made the remarks in his first media interview since taking over power from prime minister Ariel Sharon who suffered a massive stroke on Jan. 4 and remained in a coma. Olmert said that he intended to hold on to the three major West Bank settlement blocs - Ariel, Gush Etzion and Ma'aleh Adumim, in addition to Jordan Valley. About 185,000 of Israel's 244,000 settlers live in those four areas, the report said. The interview with Olmert was taped Tuesday morning and is to be broadcast Tuesday night on Channel 2 TV. Meanwhile, Olmert said that the Gush Etzion and Ma'aleh Adumim settlement blocs will remain within the security fence and are an inseparable part of Israel. During a tour along the security barrier Tuesday, he said that Israel was making herculean efforts to complete the barrier, including the "problematic" sections, as soon as possible. "The barrier is meant to be a security measure and is intended to prevent any attempts of terror attacks from these areas," he stated. The acting prime minister said that he was particularly concerned with the fence surrounding Jerusalem, and that completing those portions took priority over anything else on the national agenda. (Xinhua News Agency February 8, 2006) |
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