Sharon - Time running out for Palestinian action
HERZLIYA, Israel -- Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said Thursday that Israel was willing to move some Jewish settlements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip but delivered an ultimatum that Palestinians had only a few months to make peace or Israel would impose its own solution. The White House credited Sharon with taking significant steps toward peace but criticized any go-it-alone moves by Israel that would undercut negotiations on a U.S. "road map" peace plan to create a Palestinian state by 2005. Under Sharon's "disengagement plan," Israel would pull back from some of the area it conquered in the 1967 Mideast War and relocate some settlements to create a more easily defended security boundary and reduce the number of Israelis in Palestinian areas.