Sharon peace nod amid expulsions

Six Palestinians have been expelled from the West Bank this month

Israel has expelled three more suspected Palestinian militants from the West Bank.

The men, who have not been charged, were moved to the Gaza Strip after losing appeals to the Supreme Court.

The expulsions came as Israeli leader Ariel Sharon said he was considering taking "unilateral steps" to advance the peace process with Palestinians.

They are said to include taking down some settlements and drawing up of the borders of a future Palestinian state.

No trial

A military statement on Sunday confirmed that three Palestinian men had been "relocated" from the West Bank to the Gaza Strip.

They were named as Alaa Hassouna of Nablus, Ahmad Shakah of Jenin, and Samer Bader of Ramallah by the Associated Press news agency.

They were said to be members of the hardline Hamas movement.

The men are on a list of 18 Palestinians Israel says it wants to expel. Six of those have now been moved.

The measure has been condemned by Palestinians and human rights groups, but Israel says the men cannot be tried because it would jeopardise intelligence sources.

'Sharon plan'

Addressing the weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday, Mr Sharon said he "did not rule out unilateral steps", according to a government statement.

The statement stressed, however, that his position was "not yet fully formed".

Mr Sharon also said he remained committed to the "roadmap" for peace - launched with US backing in April but almost immediately sabotaged by renewed violence.

We must shake off decades of failed policy in the Middle East George W Bush

His acknowledgement that he is considering unilateral moves comes after speculation in the Israeli press about what it is dubbing the "Sharon plan".

There have been suggestions that such moves could include the dismantling of isolated settlements or the outlining of borders for a future Palestinian state.

Without giving details in a newspaper interview on Sunday, Mr Sharon presented plans to dismantle settlements in remote or unprotected locations as being "in the national interest".

"These are steps that can be taken without undermining security and their purpose is to make things easier for us and not for others," he was quoted as saying by the Maariv daily.

The Israeli leader has lately been the target of criticism both from US President George W Bush and four Israeli former security chiefs.