JERUSALEM, Jan. 2 (Xinhuanet) -- Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon told his cabinet Sunday that the pullout from Gaza will be a gradual process and the plan is going to be carried out in stages, not in a single move.

   The decision is aimed at providing settlement residents enough time to prepare for the evacuation and especially for their lives after the evacuation, the Ha'aretz daily said.

   It is expected that the residents will need five to six months to find new homes, new places of employment, and new schools for their children.

   However, Sharon stressed the time period between the evacuation of each settlement would be limited.

   The disengagement plan, which was put forward by Sharon at the end of 2003, requires a complete withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and four small enclaves in the northern West Bank.

   After four years of Palestinian Intifada (Uprising), Sharon insisted the Jewish presence in Gaza has become untenable, with about 8,000 Jews in 21 settlements living along 1.3 million Palestinians.

   Sharon further emphasized that the implementation of the disengagement plan may be delayed if "terror attacks" continue.

   Palestinian militants fired two mortar shells on Sunday morning at the Erez industrial zone on the northern border between Israel and the Gaza Strip, causing several injuries.

   The mortar shells, which hit a garage, were apparently fired from a nearby Palestinian village.

   The shelling came just hours after Israel Defense Forces entered the area to prevent such attacks.  Enditem