Sharon Wants to Bolster Settlements

Cynics believe such a move designed for elections.

HEBRON, West Bank (AP) — Prime Minister Ariel Sharon called for strengthening the Jewish settlements in the Hebron area as he toured the West Bank town on Sunday, two days after Palestinian gunmen killed 12 Israeli security forces and guards here.

Israeli Foreign Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who as prime minister signed a 1997 peace agreement that formally divided Hebron into Jewish and Palestinian sectors, said Sunday that he considered the deal ``canceled'' due to Palestinian attacks there.

Later at an Israeli Cabinet meeting, Sharon and Foreign Minister Benjamin Netanyahu again disagreed on the issue of exiling Yasser Arafat, Israeli radio stations reported. Netanyahu renewed his call for expelling the Palestinian leader, while Sharon again rejected the proposal, as he has several times in the past.

Sharon, his defense minister, Shaul Mofaz, and top army commanders toured the scene of the ambush as army tanks rumbled through the mostly empty streets that are once again under full control of the Israeli troops. The army has arrested at least 40 Palestinians since Saturday and has reinforced a curfew, military officials said.

According to Palestinians, the troops have taken over seven homes to use as lookout posts and have demolished two homes of suspected militants of the Islamic Jihad group, the group that carried out the attack.

Sharon said Sunday that Israel would bolster the Jewish settlements in the Hebron area by linking up several small settler enclaves in the city and the neighboring Jewish settlement of Kiryat Arba, just to the east of Hebron, Israeli radio stations reported.

It was not clear how Sharon intended to achieve this, and officials in Sharon's office were not immediately available for comment on the report.
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