Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon reiterated Tuesday that Israel will react with extremely harsh measures against Palestinian attacks during the Gaza pullout.

"I did not mean that there won't be a pullout under fire -- I meant that there won't be any fire," Sharon told a special session in the Knesset (parliament) on the preparations for the upcoming pullout.

"I gave clear instructions on the matter -- all the necessary measures should be used in order for the disengagement to be carried out at its planned timing, in mid-August," the prime minister asserted.

"The disengagement will be carried out. The defense establishment's task is to make sure that there is no fire during the evacuation," Sharon went on.

As for the coordination of the disengagement with the Palestinian National Authority, Sharon said "the coordination is important for both sides."

But he told the Knesset that the pullout from the Gaza Strip and the northern West Bank was not part of the peace process.

"We are not in the midst of the roadmap, but in a pre-roadmap stage," Sharon said.

Sharon insists several conditions must be met in order to carry out the US-brokered roadmap peace plan, which include a complete halt to Palestinian terror, violence and incitement, the disarmament of terror organizations, collecting their weapons and carrying out reforms they were committed to.

According to the disengagement plan which is termed by Sharon as a unilateral measure to disengage conflict from the Palestinians, Israel is expected to withdraw from all 21 settlements in the Gaza Strip and four of 120 in northern West Bank next month.

The pullout is scheduled to be finished in three weeks' time and is widely regarded as a key step to restart the stalled peace process.

Some analysts said the roadmap will meet dead end without a successful pullout from Gaza.

Source: Xinhua