Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon says his country could eventually remove more West Bank settlements than originally planned.
In an interview published Friday in Israeli newspaper Yediot Ahronot, Mr. Sharon was asked whether Israel would pull out of several small West Bank settlements in addition to the four already slated for withdrawal.
He responded that not everything would remain and said the issue would be raised during final status negotiations with the Palestinians.
He added that he has no regrets about his plan to evacuate about 8,500 Jewish settlers from 21 settlements in the Gaza Strip beginning Wednesday, despite fierce internal opposition.
Separately, the militant Palestinian group Hamas says it will not surrender weapons to the Palestinian Authority after Israel's withdrawal, because its resistance against Israel's occupation of Palestinian lands continues.
Some information for this report provided by AP and Reuters.
