JERUSALEM, 1 November 2005 — Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon yesterday vowed to develop Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank and Golan Heights, one month after withdrawing troops and settlers from the Gaza Strip.

“My government’s development projects include not only the Galilee, Negev and Jerusalem, but also the large settlement blocs, the Jordan Valley and the Golan,” Sharon told MPs in an address to Parliament.

Israel seized the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 Middle East War and annexed the strategic plateau in 1981 — a move not recognized by the international community.

“We have no intention of causing suffering to the Palestinian population but the Palestinians must understand that only a determined fight against terrorism, including the dismantling of its organizations, will ensure the calm to which we all aspire,” Sharon said.

“The entire international community is united in its demand that the Palestinian Authority fulfill its obligations, disarm terrorist organizations and prevent attacks on Israel,” the prime minister charged. “It is clear to everyone this is the only way to reach a settlement between us and the Palestinians. The government’s objective is to implement the roadmap, the only political plan today,” the Israeli leader said.

Sharon said that Israel had already proved itself capable of making painful concessions, referring to the withdrawal of troops and settlers from the Gaza Strip after a 38-year occupation.

“Now are asking for concrete actions from the Palestinian Authority and the Palestinian people in the sense of a truthful peace,” he said. The so-called road map peace plan, drafted by the European Union, Russia, the United Nations and the United States, has made next to no progress since its launch in 2003.

Sharon made future progress in the Middle East peace process conditional on the disarmament of Palestinian militant groups. He said the onus was now on the Palestinians to make painful concessions toward peace.

“The Palestinians must understand that only a determined fight against terrorism, including the dismantling of its organizations, will ensure the calm to which we all aspire,” Sharon said.

Eleven Palestinians have been killed in army operations and airstrikes since a suicide bombing killed five Israelis last Wednesday in a bloody week in the Middle East conflict.

“The entire international community is united in its demand that the Palestinian Authority fulfill its obligations, disarm terrorist organizations and prevent attacks on Israel,” Sharon charged. “It is clear to everyone this is the only way to reach a settlement between us and the Palestinians. The government’s objective is to implement the road map,” he said.

Although the Gaza pullout raised hopes of a breakthrough in the stuttering peace process, that optimism has evaporated amid the persistent violence.

Despite quitting Gaza, Sharon has repeatedly pledged that there will be no letup in plans to expand Jewish settlements in parts of the West Bank and in the Golan Heights, which Israel seized from Syria in 1967 and later unilaterally annexed.

“My government’s development projects include not only the Galilee, Negev and Jerusalem, but also the large settlement blocs, the Jordan Valley and the Golan,” Sharon told MPs in his address. Sharon said Israel had “no choice” but to strike at “those who foment terrorism” in the face of Palestinian attacks and calls from hard-line leaders like Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for it to be “wiped off the map.”

He also vowed to press on with construction of the controversial separation wall which Israel is building through the West Bank, despite a ruling by the International Court of Justice that parts built on occupied land are illegal.

Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat said Sharon’s call to develop Jewish settlements was the very antithesis of peace. “We are asking the international community to pressure Israel to stop all violations, aggression and settlement activity,” Erekat told AFP. “Final status negotiations are the only way. Peace and settlement activity are incompatible.”

Since Israel’s withdrawal Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas has repeatedly called on militants in the Gaza Strip to disarm but he has insisted that he can only do so by negotiation for fear of provoking a civil war.

Thousands of Palestinian mourners yesterday buried two militants from Islamic Jihad shot dead by Israeli forces during a West Bank operation after the militant group claimed Wednesday’s suicide bombing. Dozens of masked gunmen fired volleys of bullets into the air and called for the killings to be avenged.

The Palestinian Interior Ministry said the killings “threaten the quiet understanding which the Palestinian leadership and people want to protect.”

Ministry spokesman Tawfiq Abu Khussa accused Israel of refusing to end the cycle of violence because it was reluctant to resume peace talks. Palestinian security forces were working daily to stop attempted rocket attacks but continued Israeli attacks were a complication, he said.