Prime Minister Ariel Sharon returned home to Israel this morning after his three-day visit to Washington. Aides accompanying him said it was a successful visit, and that no pressures were exerted upon him. Sharon plans to advance the Road Map by dismantling 12 more outposts, freeing hundreds of prisoners - including over 200 Hamas members - in the coming days, and hand over security control of Jericho and Kalkilye to the Palestinian Authority.
Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom, speaking with Arutz-7 today, said that he is against further progress in the Road Map under the current conditions: "I said in the past that the hudna is a ticking time-bomb, and I still feel that way. I told the Americans and the Europeans, and I told the Cabinet, and I'll tell you on this broadcast too: If the PA does not fulfill its obligations to dismantle the terrorist infrastructures, such as collecting arms, under no circumstances will I support proceeding to the next stage of the Road Map - and I believe that this is the position of the entire government."
Shalom also said that he is not involved with setting the precise route of the partition wall, and does not know exactly where it will be built, but in any event, "the Shomron city of Ariel was going to remain ours for the final-status agreement when Ehud Barak and Shlomo Ben-Ami [of Labor] were doing the negotiating - so it's not conceivable that in our government it will be different."
Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom, speaking with Arutz-7 today, said that he is against further progress in the Road Map under the current conditions: "I said in the past that the hudna is a ticking time-bomb, and I still feel that way. I told the Americans and the Europeans, and I told the Cabinet, and I'll tell you on this broadcast too: If the PA does not fulfill its obligations to dismantle the terrorist infrastructures, such as collecting arms, under no circumstances will I support proceeding to the next stage of the Road Map - and I believe that this is the position of the entire government."
Shalom also said that he is not involved with setting the precise route of the partition wall, and does not know exactly where it will be built, but in any event, "the Shomron city of Ariel was going to remain ours for the final-status agreement when Ehud Barak and Shlomo Ben-Ami [of Labor] were doing the negotiating - so it's not conceivable that in our government it will be different."