Sharon Drops Bombshell: Gaza Settlements to Go.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said Monday he planned to evacuate almost all of the Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip, dropping a political bombshell that stunned friends and foes alike.

“I have given the order to plan for the evacuation of 17 settlements in the Gaza Strip,” the right-wing prime minister told the Haaretz newspaper. “I am working on the assumption that in the future there will be no Jews in Gaza.”