Israel Weighs Major West Bank Expansion
Israel Considers Building Thousands More Homes in West Bank Settlements As Part of Sharon Plan
The Associated Press
JERUSALEM June 15, 2004 — Israel is considering building thousands more homes in West Bank settlements, in line with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's plan to keep large chunks of the territory but give up the Gaza Strip, security officials said Tuesday.
In a possible boost for Sharon's Gaza withdrawal plan, Israel's attorney general was expected to announce later Tuesday that he is closing a corruption investigation against the prime minister, officials close to the case said.
The opposition Labor Party, which supports a Gaza pullback, has said it would only consider joining Sharon's coalition if he is cleared of corruption suspicions.
Sharon needs Labor to restore his parliamentary majority. Several coalition hardliners defected over the Gaza plan, leaving him with a minority government...............
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