Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon today said he is considering delaying Israel’s planned withdrawal from the Gaza Strip this summer by three weeks after a top official said settlers shouldn’t be moved during a Jewish mourning period that marks the destruction of the biblical temples.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is considering delaying the Gaza pullout until mid-August, after the completion of a three-week Jewish mourning period that marks the destruction of the two biblical temples, Israeli officials said today.