Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said on Tuesday that the internationally backed "roadmap" peace blueprint that sought to create an independent Palestinian state by 2005 was dead.
"I would have preferred to negotiate an agreement (with the Palestinians) but several months ago I realised that it is not possible to move the roadmap forward because the Palestinians do not respect their commitments," he said in an interview broadcast on Israel's second television channel.
He confirmed that he decided to implement his own package of unilateral measures, including an Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, after reaching this conclusion.
The European Union, Russia, the United Nations and the United States launched the peace blueprint last year amid great fanfare.
The roadmap envisions the creation of a Palestinian state in the Gaza Strip and West Bank along with guarantees for a halt to attacks against Israel.
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