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Israel should link West Bank settlement to Jerusalem: Sharon

* Bush will press Sharon over settlements, says White House
* Militants defy Abbas’s attempt to disarm them

JERUSALEM: Israel should press forward with the building plan connecting the largest West Bank Jewish settlement to Jerusalem, despite US and Palestinian objections, said Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on Monday.

A Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee’s meeting participant , speaking on condition of anonymity, said that Sharon made it clear he wanted to move forward with building 3,500 units in a five-kilometre stretch of land known as the E-1 corridor, between Jerusalem and Maaleh Adumim settlement.

“There is a need to carry out construction in E-1,” the participant quoted Sharon as saying, “This programme has been in existence for 10 years and we should move ahead with it.” Sharon gave no time frame for beginning the project, the participant said.

However, the White House said that it opposed Israeli plans to expand Maale Adumim and that President George W Bush would raise the issue when he meets with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon next week.

“We oppose the expansion of any settlement activity. That has been our view and that remains our view,” White House spokesman Scott McClellan said when asked about Sharon’s plans in the West Bank.

McClellan said, “Settlement activity will be a subject that comes up” when Bush and Sharon meet at Bush’s ranch in Crawford, Texas, next Monday.

A senior Bush administration official said there was no softening in Washington’s stance since the previous US statement. The official called McClellan’s message “direct, clear and unequivocal.”

Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat condemned Sharon’s remarks, “If carried out, this E-1 project will destroy the peace process and will undermine prospects for any future negotiations on the final status agreements. We call upon the US to stop this project if they want to give the peace process a chance.”

Meanwhile, leading militant groups in Palestinian territories vowed to defy President Mahmoud Abbas’s bid to disarm hundreds of gunmen wanted by Israel.

Leaders of Hamas and Islamic Jihad rejected Abbas’s efforts outright while al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, part of his own Fatah movement, appeared divided on how to respond.

Abbas issued a decree on Sunday giving committees of officials two weeks “to resolve the issue of the fugitives,” referring to about 530 militants on Israel’s wanted list for alleged involvement in attacks.

Under the decree, the wanted men would voluntarily disarm and be recruited into the Palestinian Authority, said a security source. Israel would no longer pursue them under a deal Abbas reached with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

It was unclear what, if any, action Abbas would take if militants refused to comply. He has tried to use dialogue rather than force despite Israel’s demands for a crackdown. “We will not lay down the flag of resistance or remove our finger from the trigger,” said a Hamas statement. Hamas acknowledged it had agreed to a period of calm with Israel but insisted it was not abandoning its armed struggle.

At the same time in Ramallah, a senior Palestinian official said that over 1,000 Palestinian security officials would be forced into retirement by the weekend as part of Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas’ security reforms. The senior official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Abbas would also gradually replace security leaders tainted by corruption charges. He said that Abbas would use a law passed by Palestinian legislators last month to forcibly retire the 1,000 members who were over the age of 60. agencies

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