By Xinhua,
Gaza : Islamic Hamas movement on Tuesday ruled out any Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank as reports said Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has presented a settlement plan to the Palestinian National Authority (PNA).
Olmert’s proposal “was only a media report. If it was correct, we will question the Israeli occupation’s seriousness in withdrawing from West Bank,” said Sami Abu Zuhri, Hamas spokesman in Gaza.
The proposal, which Olmert presented to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, puts forward an Israeli withdrawal from 93 percent of West Bank.
In return for the remaining seven percent, which will include the large Israeli settlement blocks, the Palestinians will annex equivalent territory of western Negev in southern Israel and the remaining 1.5 percent would be invested in a route linking Gaza with the West Bank.
But Hamas, which rejects peace talks between Israel and the PNA, says Olmert’s offer was meant to “extort the PNA and to tempt it to keep on its security crackdown against the Palestinian people,” according to Abu Zuhri, who was referring to pro-Abbas forces’ actions against Hamas in the West Bank.
The plan is also subject to the PNA’s ability to restore its control on the Gaza Strip. Last year, Hamas drove out pro-Abbas forces, ousted his Fatah movement and seized the coastal enclave.
“Linking this offer with retrieving Gaza means imposing more security obligations and commitment on the PNA,” Abu Zuhri said.
Hamas vowed it will not give up control of the territory unless settling all outstanding issues with Abbas’ Fatah movement via dialogue.