Sharon: Not All Settlements in Final Deal

Ariel Sharon Says Not All Current Settlements Will Remain in Final Peace Agreement

Not all Israeli settlements in the West Bank will remain in place in a final peace accord with the Palestinians, but there will be no pullbacks comparable to this month's evacuations, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said Monday.
Sharon spoke as a senior Egyptian mediator discussed Gaza border crossings and pried a pledge from Palestinian militants to maintain a truce with Israel despite a surge of violence following the withdrawal from Gaza and part of the West Bank.
Interviewed on Channel 10 TV, Sharon insisted that all of the main settlement blocs would remain under Israeli sovereignty, but "not all the settlements of today in Judea and Samaria will remain," calling the West Bank by its biblical names.He was not specific, but he appeared to be referring to small enclaves around Palestinian cities, as opposed to larger ones near the line with Israel...