>JERUSALEM, Aug. 12 -- Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was opposed to Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's comments saying Israel intends to evacuate more than four settlements in West Bank, Ha'aretz reported on Thursday.

Olmert, who is close to Sharon and has often floated ideas atthe prime minister's behest, said earlier Thursday that Israelwould unilaterally evacuate many more settlements than the fourmentioned in its disengagement plan.

"In the future there will be a need to evacuate more settlementsin Judea and Samaria (the West Bank) -- not because it's just, butbecause there is no choice if we want to remain a Jewish anddemocratic state," Olmert said during a tour to the West Bankseparation fence.

But according to the newspaper, a member of Sharon's staff saidthe prime minister was "furious" over Olmert's comments."Olmert's comments do not reflect Sharon's position, (and) theyare opposed to his position," the official was quoted by thenewspaper as saying.

The official said the prime minister and the government'sposition remain as specified in the disengagement plan passed onJune 6, and Olmert is saying out of a personal agenda.Sharon has yet to speak with Olmert directly and Olmert's aidesrefused to comment on the prime minister's attitude.Meanwhile, Olmert's remarks also met strong criticism fromright-wing Knesset (Parliament) members.

Minister without portfolio Uzi Landau said Olmert's remarksprove the disengagement plan is only the beginning.There would be wide-spread concessions leading up to thedivision of Jerusalem and a return to the borders before the 1967Mideast war in the future, he warned.

Aryeh Eldad, also member of the Knesset, said there is no doubtthat the withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and northern West Bank is "the first dose in the feast of poison that Sharon and Olmert planto feed us."

Source: Xinhua