Peres supports the evacuation of Gaza settlements

Channel II of the Israeli TV on Monday evening said that the Israeli foreign minister Shimon Peres said to the Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon during a mini meeting for the Israeli cabinet for security and political affairs just one week earlier that he supports ( Peres) the immediate evacuation of all Israeli settlements in Gaza.

The correspondent of the Israeli TV quoted several high ranking Israeli ministers as saying that this is not the first time in which Peres proposes such an idea despite the fact " that he knows this is not realistic." On Monday, the Israeli ministry of the Interior said that number of the Israeli settlers who live in the West Bank and Gaza reached by the first half of this year 208,000 settlers, representing an increase of 5000 settlers of the number of settlers in 2000.

The population of Maali Adomim settlement to the east of Jerusalem increased by 370 persons during the first half of the current year to reach 26480 persons. Then came Ariel settlement to the north of the West Bank occupied the second position with a population to increase 200 persons and reached 16700 and then Beitar Aleit settlement near Bethlehem whose population increased 700 persons to reach 16500.

However, these figures refute the claims made by the Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon who continues to claim that Israel does not build new settlements, despite his commitment to refusing the dismantling any settlement or even freezing the settlement process.