JERUSALEM, Oct. 6 (Xinhuanet) -- The aim of the Gaza disengagement plan is to put the peace process on hold, said senior adviser of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on Wednesday.

    "The significance of the disengagement plan is the freezing of the peace process," Dov Weisglass was quoted by Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz as saying.

    Weisglass, one of the initiators of the disengagement plan, said "When you freeze that process, you prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state, and you prevent a discussion on the refugees, the borders and Jerusalem."

    Weisglass did not deny that the main achievement of the Gaza plan is to freeze the peace process in a "legitimate manner."He said under Sharon's plan the vast majority of Jewish settlers in the West Bank would be allowed to stay.

    "Out of 240,000 settlers, 190,000 will not be moved from theirplace," Ha'aretz quoted him as saying.

    Sharon's office was not immediately available for comment on the remarks.

    However, Sharon has said in a recent interview that Israel is nolonger following the "road map," a US-backed peace plan that envisions the establishment of a Palestinian state by 2005. Enditem