TEL AVIV, Israel, June 10 (UPI) -- Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende said Thursday his country and the European Union would help Israel implement its Gaza and West Bank withdrawal plan.
The Netherlands will assume the EU's presidency on July 1.
Israel is seeking European, World Bank and other international help for its plan to hand them the industrial and agricultural facilities it would leave behind when it withdraws from the Gaza Strip and the northern West Bank.
Sharon briefed Balkenende on his plan Thursday.
"The Netherlands and the European Union would make every effort to assist in advancing the plan," Balkenende said in a statement issued by Sharon's office in Jerusalem.
U.S. House of Representatives Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, has also told Sharon he would vigorously work to secure broad Congressional support for the disengagement plan.
