Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz recommended on Thursday that a Gaza pullout be delayed by three weeks to avoid clashing with a traditional period of Jewish mourning.

His recommendation supports Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's early proposal to put off the evacuation till mid-August, which had been slated to begin on July 20.

Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mark Regev said the postponement will get approval, but the evacuation would continue to be carried out, despite the short delay and strident settler opposition.

Mark Regev said, "This is being discussed by the government. It will have to be taken, the decision, in the Cabinet but I can sure you that we are talking about small tactical changes, a matter of days, strategically there is no change. It is our intention to be out of Gaza by the end of the summer."

Israel and the Palestinian leaders held their first talks on coordinating the pullout on Thursday, and after the meeting, Palestinian Chief Negotiator Saeb Erekat once again demanded assurances that the pullout will be the first step in implementing the road map peace plan.

"What we want to ensure, the Gaza disengagement and north West Bank disengagement will not be (the) first and (the) last. We want this to be part of the "road map" and not an alternative to it. We don't want to go find ourselves again in the squares of the interim agreements. We believe that we should target the end game, and the "road map" specified that the end game is to end the Israeli occupation that began in 1967." Mark Regev said.

The withdrawal plan has been hindered by lack of cooperation from the Jewish settlers, who overwhelmingly oppose the initiative.

Source: CRI News