Sharon: No Peace Until Palestinian Leaders Reform

May 4, 2002

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon branded the Palestinian leadership a "corrupt terror regime" Tuesday and said there could be no peace until it undertook sweeping internal reforms.

Sharon was addressing Israel's parliament two days after the central committee of his right-wing Likud Party, in a move spearheaded by his political rival Benjamin Netanyahu, voted never to accept the creation of a Palestinian state.

Sharon has said before that he is prepared to see a limited, demilitarized Palestinian state created alongside Israel but only at the end of a lengthy and incremental peace process.

Without mentioning the statehood issue, Sharon said on Tuesday: "There can be no peace with a corrupt terror regime which is rotten and dictatorial... There has to be a different (Palestinian) Authority."

"When we see how the Palestinians construct their society and their self-government, when we see that they truly seek peace ... we can move ahead to discussions of the character of the permanent deals between us," he added.

Sharon also hailed a major army offensive in the West Bank as a success Tuesday but said the mission to root out Palestinian militants was not over.

He reserved the right to continue raids in the West Bank to detain suspected militants and halt further attacks against Israelis in a more than 19-month-old Palestinian uprising against occupation.

"We have not finished the job. Our fight against terror continues," Sharon said. "There is not and will not be any hiding place for the terrorists, their helpers and accomplices."

Israeli forces reoccupied West Bank cities and towns in the offensive launched on March 29 but has since withdrawn the troops, while keeping areas encircled. Sharon said the military operation was "an important and vital stage" in the struggle against Palestinian militants.

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