Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon reiterated warning to the Palestinian Authority over gunfire during the planned Israeli pullout from Gaza Strip and four West Bank settlements.
During a special session of the Knesset Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee and the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee later on Tuesday, Sharon said, Israel will react with extreme force to Palestinian attacks during the pullout.
On the other hand, Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz said it would take three months to demolish settler homes in Gaza.
‘I did not mean that there won’t be a pullout under fire – I meant that there won’t be any fire,’ Sharon said.
‘I gave clear instructions on the matter – all the necessary measures should be used in order for the disengagement to be carried out at its planned timing, in mid-August,’ he said.
He affirmed that the disengagement will be carried out, saying that the defense establishment’s task is to make sure that there is no fire during the evacuation.
The session was specifically held for the preparations for the pullout.
However, Sharon was careful for the pullout not be view as part of a peace process.
‘We are not in the midst of the road map [for peace], but in a pre-road map stage,’ Sharon said.
