Sharon: Time to expand Ariel

[Scurrilous]

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3116191,00.html

Prime minister says he plans to expand West Bank settlement, as well as other settlement blocs

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"The time has come to look into expanding the West Bank settlement of Ariel and its vicinity, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said Thursday, several hours before U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is due to arrive in Israel.

Notably, Sharon's latest comments contradict official American policy, which opposes any settlement expansion.

"I came to check how we can expand the town and the entire (settlement) bloc, as I'm doing in other blocs," the prime minister said during a tour of Ariel. "This bloc will forever be an inseparable part of the State of Israel and enjoy a contiguous territorial connection to it."

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"Sharon's message reiterates previous statements he has made, but the timing of the remarks could be problematic, with the soon-to-arrive Rice possibly interpreting Sharon's words as a provocation."