Israel's Army Chief Criticizes 'Sharon Plan'-Report

[Classical_Liberal]

Israel's Army Chief Criticizes 'Sharon Plan'-Report



Sunday, November 30, 2003 3:46 a.m. ET


By Corinne Heller

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel's army chief has privately voiced reservations about Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's proposal to take unilateral steps if peacemaking with the Palestinians fails, Haaretz newspaper reported on Sunday.

Lieutenant-General Moshe Yaalon's reported comments in the liberal Israeli daily added to criticism that he and four former Israeli security chiefs leveled recently against Sharon's tough policies toward the Palestinians.


Asked about the report, an army spokesman said the military does not comment on accounts of purported private remarks.

Sharon raised the possibility in public remarks on Thursday that he would take unilateral moves, including the dismantling of isolated Jewish settlements, should efforts to promote a U.S.-backed peace "road map" collapse.

Haaretz said that under the "Sharon Plan," Israel would then unilaterally draw a border for a Palestinian state in the Gaza Strip and in less than half of the West Bank, a homeland far smaller than Palestinians envisage......

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