Quds city, Jan 6, SPA -- Israel's army chief announced Thursday he'll expel officers and soldiers who refuse to participate in a planned withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and parts of the West Bank. The warning by Lt. Gen. Moshe Yaalon came after 34 reserve officers wrote to their commander that the Gaza withdrawal, along with the dismantling of Jewish settlements, is illegal and that soldiers must not participate in it, the Associated Press reported. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon consolidated a pro-pullback coalition by signing up a small ultra-Orthodox Jewish party. Coalition agreements were to be signed later Thursday. Also Thursday, Palestinian presidential candidate Mahmoud Abbas reached out to Israel. Abbas told the Israeli daily Maariv that his first order of business after next week's election is to seek a renewal of peace talks and to start cleaning up the Palestinian security forces. "We will begin a dialogue with the Israeli side to see if there is willingness to renew the process," he said.
