Ramon: The occupation threatens our very existence

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Vice Prime Minister Haim Ramon told Israel Radio Friday that he supported a withdrawal from "most" of the West Bank, "except for large settlement blocs." He suggested NATO forces could replace IDF troops in the areas evacuated. "In my eyes, the occupation of the territories threatens our very existence, our legitimacy and our international standing," Ramon said in the radio interview. Ramon would not specify the scope of the proposed pullout, but said a plan floated by Olmert before his election in 2006 for a unilateral pullout from 90 percent of the West Bank was no longer a possibility, "certainly not in one step."