Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has warned that there will be no peace deal with the Palestinians unless they fight “terror”. Mr Sharon was addressing a meeting of his own Likud Party hours after five Israelis and five Palestinians died in the first major clashes since last week’s US-led peace summit in Jordan. Speaking over loud boos and jeers from Likud hardliners opposed to the peace plan, known as the roadmap, Mr Sharon said Israel had to make concessions to achieve peace with the Palestinians. In a message likely to infuriate Palestinians he said Israel would never allow Palestinian refugees to return to their former homes in Israel. He said his government would implement the roadmap “in stages and with open eyes”, but he said the Palestinians “must dismantle the terror organizations” first. Palestinian militants have boycotted ceasefire talks their Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas – also known as Abu Mazen – over his failure to address the refugee issue as well as that of Jerusalem – claimed by both sides as their undivided capital. Three militant groups have said they carried out one of the attacks on Sunday when three Palestinian gunmen attacked the Erez army checkpoint between the Gaza Strip and Israel, killing four Israeli soldiers and wounding four others before themselves being shot dead. Full Story
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