Less than three months before the disengagement plan is to be implemented, Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres has said he is still not convinced that the plan will be carried out, the Jerusalem Post reported on Monday.

Peres said his first priority within the government was to ensure the complete withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, but this was not yet "a done deal."

"If we leave Gaza, it will be an achievement. If we don't, it will be a tragedy," he said.

"In my eyes the withdrawal from Gaza is a condition for a continuation of the diplomatic process," he said.

Peres said he could envision "a couple of things" blocking implementation of the withdrawal, one of them being a decision to destroy homes in settlements to be left behind.

"If we destroy the homes, it will lengthen the process by three months, since according to international law we will need to clean up the debris. We are talking about 12 million tons. It will take three months to remove, and cost 250 million Shekel (about 56 million US dollars). Then we have to find a place in Israel to dump it. This alone can spoil it," he said.

Peres said it does not make sense for Israel to lead a diplomatic campaign, as is now being done, to disqualify Hamas as a party able to compete in the July Palestinian parliamentary elections.

"I suggest that Israel should not mix in," he said. "Let the Palestinians handle their own affairs; we should not patronize (them)."

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom have claimed that Hamas should not be able to participate in the elections before it disarms, and that a political party in democracy can not support a militia.