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U.S. Seeks UN Support for Sharon's Plan

(Jerusalem Post) Herb Keinon - The U.S. wants the UN to release a statement following an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza that the Israeli occupation of the Gaza Strip has ended, a senior diplomatic official said Thursday. The statement would be similar to what the UN released after Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon in 2000, and would make it easier to market the disengagement plan to the Arab world. However, Israel will have to withdraw from the strategic Philadelphia Corridor that separates the Gaza Strip from Egypt, according to one of the ideas that a high-level U.S. delegation brought to Jerusalem Thursday. An Israeli official said Israel does not want to hold on to the corridor "forever," but that in the short term it will be necessary to maintain a presence there to ensure that everything does not "blow up in our face." The corridor is key to preventing the smuggling of men and arms across the border. The tendency now is for the U.S. to make commitments to Israel - in terms of refugee repatriation and settlement blocs - in language as vague as possible.
2004-04-02 00:00:00
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