- "I want to arrive at an arrangement with the Palestinians,
because that will be the only solution to Israel's ailing economy,"
Sharon said.
-
- Risking the wrath of the Likud members who will decide
the party's leadership race, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said Wednesday
that he considers a Palestinian state an established fact.
-
- "When you look, you see that all the government
structures already exist," Sharon said in an interview on Channel
2.
-
- "The Palestinians have ministers, they have a cabinet,
and they have a president. They also have 104 states acknowledging their
right to statehood, even before they declare it."
-
- Sharon was replying to interviewer Dan Shilon's question
about whether he thought the establishment of a Palestinian state is inevitable.
Sharon said that once terror ends, he is confident an agreement can be
reached with the Palestinians to end the conflict. To do so, he said, he
is willing to make diplomatic concessions, but not such that national security
would be compromised.
-
- "I want to arrive at an arrangement with the Palestinians,
because that will be the only solution to Israel's ailing economy,"
Sharon said.
-
- "A diplomatic agreement that brings peace is the
real answer to the economic situation."
-
- Responding to Foreign Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's call
to expel Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat, Sharon said the
matter has been raised several times and the security establishment decided
not to take such a step, because the harm would outweigh the good.
-
- Netanyahu declined to respond to Sharon's statements.
-
- Sharon said that polls that have shown him with a hefty
lead over Netanyahu are indicators of the public's support, but that the
November 28 primary will be the true test. Asked to respond to Netanyahu's
call to him to be his second in command if he loses the race, Sharon said
the question is irrelevant, because he intends to win.
-
- Although he said he wants a wide coalition, Sharon revealed
for the first time that he does not intend to appoint as many ministers.
"There will not be a government of this size again; it will be much
smaller," he said.
-
- Asked about his age, 74, Sharon said it is not a matter
of concern.
-
- "If I had any doubt that everything [in my health]
is all right and holding together as necessary, I would be doing different
things," he said. "As long as I am feeling all right, there are
many problems still ahead that require good judgment, and the public knows
whom it can trust."
-
- http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/A/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1037183089791
|
