Bush supports Israel's control of settlement blocs in W. Bank

During a joint press conference with US President George W. Bush on Monday evening [Israel time], Prime Minister Ariel Sharon reiterated Israel's understanding that major Israeli population centers in the West Bank would remain in Israel's hands even after final status negotiations.

In his prepared statement, Bush reiterated that any final status agreement would have to take into account realities on the ground and that it was unrealistic to expect a return to the 1949 armistice lines. Bush also repeated the US understanding that one of Israel's obligations under the road map was to cease all expansion of settlements.

Bush and Sharon met before the press conference for a working meeting at the president's ranch in Crawford, Texas.

Sharon also clarified his comments from earlier in the day in which he seemed to be saying that Israel was on the verge of civil war. During the press conference, he said that he had meant the atmosphere was very tense in Israel but that he was confident the disengagement would be accomplished peacefully.

Regarding terror, Sharon urged all parties to adopt a commitment not to be satisfied with partial measures against terror, but instead work to eradicate it fully.

The prime minister once again pledged to remove illegal outposts and said more cities would be transferred to Palestinian control as the security situation permitted.

In response to a question as to the US role, Bush said he felt the best role for the US right now was to remind both sides of their obligations under the road map. He twice called Sharon's disengagement plan "courageous" and attributed the difficulties in reaching a peace agreement to a "lack of trust" between the sides.

Neither leader explicitly addressed the recent spate of mortar shell barrages that targeted Gaza settlements over the weekend.

Earlier on Monday, in an interview with NBC, Sharon sounded a cautionary note concerning rising tensions in Israel.

"One should not underestimate the tension here. The atmosphere looks like on the eve of a civil war," Sharon said.

"All my life, I was defending the lives of Jews, now for the first time, security steps are taken to protect me from Jews," he said.

He concluded on a more positive note regarding peace with the Palestinians, saying, "At the current time, maybe for the first time, there is a possibility to try and solve the problem."

En route to Texas for his Monday meeting with US President George Bush, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said the weekend firings of more than 74 mortar shells and at least two Kassam rockets, was "a flagrant violation" of the Sharm e-Sheikh agreement with the Palestinian Authority and will be raised during the meeting.

The barrages followed the IDF killing of three Palestinian youths believed to be smuggling weapons via the Egyptian border.

On Sunday night, Sharon met in Waco, Texas with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in preparation for Monday's meeting with Bush.

Diplomatic officials said it was fortuitous from Sharon's point of view that the meeting was taking place now, and not last month as originally planned – a time when Abbas's stock was higher in Washington.

According to this school of thought, had the meeting taken place in March, shortly after the Sharm summit and the London conference, Sharon would have come under heavy pressure to grant more concessions to Abbas as "confidence-building measures."

The feeling in Jerusalem now is that since Abbas has not taken any concrete measures to confiscate arms, or in any other way dismantle the terrorist infrastructure, Sharon will not be called upon to make any far-reaching gestures beyond the usual call to dismantle roadblocks, lift closures and perhaps expedite the release of another 400 Palestinian prisoners, as discussed at Sharm.

According to Israeli officials, over the last month, while US Gen. William Ward has been on the ground monitoring PA security reforms, the US has been increasingly dissatisfied with the pace of PA security related activity. For instance, Abbas has not yet consolidated the 12 different security apparatus into three, as both the US and Israel had expected.

Diplomatic officials have said that with all the brouhaha recently over plans to link Ma'aleh Adumim to Jerusalem, growing US impatience with the pace of PA actions has gone largely unnoticed.

"What I say publicly, I say privately. And that is, the road map has clear obligations on settlements and that we expect the prime minister to adhere to those road map obligations," Bush said.

But officials familiar with summit preparations said it was unlikely Bush will press Sharon too hard on the issue, fearing it could jeopardize the Gaza withdrawal plan.

"We just want to see disengagement be a success so that we can move forward to implementing the road map," one diplomat said.

"We expect that President Bush will keep his vision for a two-state solution alive by having Mr. Sharon accept a full cessation of settlement activities. This is really the most important thing for us," said negotiator Saeb Erekat.

Abbas is expected to visit Washington later this month, the first time Bush, who refused to meet Yasser Arafat, will meet with the head of the PA.

Recently, however, there have been reports that his visit may be postponed until he takes some concrete security steps to forestall US pressure.

Sharon is scheduled to fly to Washington Monday evening [US time] for two days of meetings.

Meanwhile, AP says:

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&e=1&u=/ap/20050411/ap_on_go_pr_wh/bush_sharon&sid=84439559

Bush Asks Sharon Not to Expand Settlement

23 minutes ago White House - AP

By NEDRA PICKLER, Associated Press Writer

CRAWFORD, Texas - President Bush, concerned about the progress of negotiations toward peace in the Middle East, prodded Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon Monday to abandon plans to expand a key Jewish settlement in the West Bank.

Sharon said he agreed with Bush on the general outlines of the internationally negotiated "road map" peace plan, but that some settlements in the West Bank are considered part of Israel and would remain under his government's control.

Standing at Bush's side, Sharon also said Israel would not move forward on the road map until the Palestinians take more steps to crack down on and disarm militant groups and ensure "a full cessation of terror." While Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas has begun to act against terror organizations, recent violence against Israel shows that "terror is still continuing" and that Abbas "must take more steps."

"It should be completely quiet," he said.

Bush had praise for the Palestinian leadership, but also made clear more must be done.

"I appreciate the fact that they've taken some action on security," Bush said of the Palestinians after he and Sharon met at the president's Texas ranch. "We want to continue to work with them on consolidating security forces."

The expansion issue amounted to a rare, if gentle, nudge from Bush to Sharon and overshadowed a meeting originally designed to give the Israeli leader support for a controversial plan to dismantle all 21 Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip and four in the northern West Bank.

The United States has objected to an Israeli plan to add 3,650 homes to the West Bank's largest settlement, Maaleh Adumim. The plan would cut off Arab neighborhoods in Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank.

Israel insists it has the right to continue expanding these settlements. The United States opposes any further construction there, saying it threatens peace with the Palestinians and violates the "road map" that calls for a settlement freeze.

Bush said he reiterated to Sharon the road map's immediate demands: that Israel remove any unauthorized outposts in the Palestinian territories and "meet its road map obligations regarding settlements in the West Bank."

"I told the prime minister not to undertake any activity that contravenes the road map or prejudices final status obligations," Bush said.

Sharon pledged to Bush that he would remove "unauthorized outposts."

"As to settlements, Israel will meet all its obligations under the road map," he said.

The Gaza pullout, scheduled for July and August, would remove about 9,000 Israelis from their homes. Sharon said the plan, for which he is under fire at home, has generated a tense atmosphere in Israel.

Referring to the mood in Israel, Sharon said in an interview with NBC News, "The tension here, the atmosphere here looks like the eve of the civil war. All my life I was defending life of Jews. Now for the first time, steps I'm taking to protect me from Jews."

Bush heralded Sharon for "his courageous initiative to disengage from Gaza and part of the West Bank" and for his willingness to coordinate it with Palestinians.

"I urge the Palestinian leadership to accept his offer,"he said. "By working together, Israelis and Palestinians can lay the groundwork for a peaceful transition."

Sharon also told NBC that "maybe for the first time, there is a possibility to try and solve the problem" after there being no chance when former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat — "a murderer," he said — was still alive.

The meeting was the first in a series of Bush meetings with Mideast leaders over the next month.

The president has made the spread of democracy in the Mideast a goal of his second term. He also plans to meet with Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah at his Texas ranch on April 25 and will see Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas when he visits the United States next month.

Some Crawford businesses displayed the Israeli flag to welcome Sharon, while a few dozen protesters waving Palestinian flags marched around the small town's downtown intersection Sunday. The Unity Coalition for Israel also planned a demonstration Monday to tout claims that Palestinian statehood would be a reward for terrorism.

The "road map" peace plan envisions an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel but has been frozen since its launch in June 2003 amid violations by both sides.

Sharon wants Palestinian leaders to guarantee that Israelis will not come under fire during settlement evacuation.

On Saturday, Israeli troops shot and killed three teenagers in disputed circumstances in the Gaza Strip, shattering weeks of calm and raising tensions. In response, Palestinian militants fired at least 21 mortar rounds at Jewish settlements there, the army said.

Sharon, speaking to reporters as he flew to his meeting with Bush, said the mortar fire "is a flagrant violation of the understandings" reached at the February truce summit with Abbas.

"And this will be a central issue to be raised in my talks with President Bush," he said.

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