ISRAEL Palestinians will wait years for state, Sharon says

Yasser Arafat is an assassination target, the prime minister said.
JERUSALEM (AP) -- Palestinians might not get a state for many years as a result of Israel's unilateral "disengagement" plan, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said in interviews published today, providing more details of his proposal to withdraw from all of the Gaza Strip and four West Bank settlements.
Sharon also said Israel is no longer bound by a pledge to the United States not to harm Yasser Arafat, saying the Palestinian leader and the head of Lebanon's Hezbollah guerrillas, Hassan Nasrallah, are potential targets for assassination.
The prime minister gave wide-ranging interviews to the Yediot Ahronot, Maariv and Haaretz dailies, as well as Israel Radio and Israel Army Radio.
In the Gaza Strip, the bodies of three Palestinians -- apparently shot by Israeli forces before dawn -- were found near an Israeli settlement. The army said troops had opened fire on three suspicious figures near the border fence with Israel.
Israeli security forces were on high alert for the Passover holiday, with reinforcements deployed at outdoor markets, malls and synagogues. The military banned all Palestinians from entering Israel to try to ward off attacks. The tight closure is to remain in effect at least until Israel's Independence Day, April 26, officials said.
Sharon said the withdrawal plan is a "deadly blow" to the Palestinians and that he would not coordinate with them -- an apparent response to ultra-nationalist critics who have accused him of succumbing to Palestinian violence.
"In the unilateral plan, there is no Palestinian state. This situation could continue for many years," Sharon told Yediot.
The prime minister told Maariv that his plan "will bring their [the Palestinians'] dreams to an end."
Palestinians charge the withdrawal plan is a ruse to trade Gaza for a permanent grasp over most of the West Bank. The prime minister wants to evacuate all 21 Israeli settlements in Gaza and four in the West Bank.