• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Bush Cautions Sharon, Reaffirms Support

Posted on: Tuesday, 29 July 2003, 06:00 CDT

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said Tuesday he would continue building a security fence separating Israel from Palestinian areas. President Bush did not press the Israeli leader to halt construction but said Israel must consider the consequences of its actions on the peace process.

Standing alongside Bush in the White House Rose Garden, Sharon also insisted anew that all terrorism by Palestinians end. Palestinian leaders were "doing nothing to eliminate or dismantle" terror organizations, he said.

But, Sharon added that if the current lull in violence continues and Palestinians break up such organizations, Israel will take more steps to make the lives of Palestinians easier - a request made of him by Bush.

For his part, Bush declared: "America is firmly committed to the security of Israel as a Jewish state, and we are firmly committed to the safety of the Israeli people. As we head down the road to peace, my commitment to the security of Israel is unshakable, as is the enduring friendship of our countries."

But he called on both sides to do more to move the process forward.

"Much hard work remains to be done by Israelis and Palestinians and by their neighbors," Bush said.

The meeting comes four days after Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas visited the White House with a list of demands, including an end to the wall, the mass release of Palestinian prisoners and an end to Jewish settlements in the West Bank and Gaza.

Bush was trying to put energy into a U.S.-backed peace plan launched last month in Aqaba, Jordan, that calls for creation of a Palestinian state by 2005. Although there has been a pause in violence, there have only been a handful of steps by each side to move the process forward.

"I encouraged the prime minister to take further steps to improve the daily conditions faced by Palestinians," Bush said. "Israelis and Palestinians deserve the same chance to live normal lives free from fear, free from hatred and violence and free from harassment."

"I also urged the prime minister to carefully consider all the consequences of Israel's actions as we move forward on the road to peace," he added.

Bush has criticized Israel's construction of the security fence in Palestinian areas of the West Bank.

But Sharon defended its construction on grounds it helped stem terror attacks.

"I would hope in the longer term that the fence would be irrelevant," Bush said. "The fence is a sensitive issue. I understand that."

Sharon said he and Bush did not discuss the path of the fence. But he said he assured Bush that Israel would construct it in a way that would limit disruption to Palestinians.

"I said we shall continue building the fence. But I shall choose ways which will disturb the Palestinians as little as possible," the Israeli leader said, speaking in Hebrew. Sharon switched back and forth between English and Hebrew as he fielded reporters' questions.

In English, Sharon said, "The security fence will continue to be built with every effort to minimize the infringement on the daily life of the Palestinian population."

Palestinians complain that the project, still in its early stages, has confiscated Palestinian land and makes life miserable for many West Bank residents.

On another touchy issue, Sharon said the two presidents had agreed there would be no release of Palestinian prisoners "with blood on their hands," those who are likely to return to terrorism if released.

Abbas last week demanded the release of most of the 7,000 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails. A few hundred have been released, and Sharon has promised to release several hundred more.

The two leaders also discussed the issue of settlements.

The U.S.-backed, multinational road map to peace requires Israel to halt "settlement activity" at nearly 150 formal Jewish settlements. In addition, Israel must take down small settlement outposts that have gone up since March 2001. Israel has removed about a dozen such outposts in recent weeks, but others have been built.

"Unauthorized outposts will be removed as required in a law-abiding country," Sharon said.

Sharon said that while the current pause in violence was important, "we are concerned that this welcome quiet will be shattered any minute as a result of the continued existence of terror organizations which the Palestinian Authority is doing nothing to eliminate or dismantle."

Sharon also praised Bush for toppling the regime of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

Bush was also meeting with Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal. The Saudi requested the session primarily to discuss a congressional report on the Sept. 11 attacks dealing with foreign support for the hijackers, but the leaders were sure to discuss the Mideast, said White House spokesman Scott McClellan.

Bush's support of Israel as a "Jewish state" was seen by Israelis as backing their objection to Palestinian demands that refugees who left their homes in 1948 when Israel was created be allowed to return.

Israel says that millions of Palestinians would then flood into the country if such a right were exercised, perhaps spelling the end of the nation as a Jewish state. In preparation for Sharon's visit, Israel made some conciliatory moves.

The White House welcomed on Monday a decision to release hundreds of Palestinian militants in a policy reversal designed to placate Abbas. And, in another development, Israel removed 10 major West Bank checkpoints and other barriers to Palestinian travel.

---

On the Net:

State Department's Near East desk: http://www.state.gov/p/nea/

More News in this Category