WASHINGTON, 7 May 2004 — Under pressure from Jordan’s King Abdallah, US President George W. Bush said yesterday he would reassure the Palestinians in writing of his commitment to ensuring a “just peace” with Israel despite his recent pledges favoring the Jewish state.
Bush’s statement came hours after Israel said it would push through Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s Gaza pullout plan virtually unchanged, even as the Jewish state began work on a new fence deep in the territory to secure a settler road.
Bush said he would send a letter to Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qorei “that will explain my views, and we will expand dialogue between the United States and Palestinians.”
Bush delighted Israelis and enraged Palestinians last month when he said Israel could not be expected to give up all its settlements or accept the return of Palestinian refugees.
Though White House officials said they stood by their commitments to Israel, Bush told Abdallah what he wanted to hear: “All final-status issues must be negotiated between the parties... and the United States will not prejudice the outcome of those negotiations.”
Abdallah abruptly canceled plans to visit Washington last month to protest Bush’s commitments to Sharon. The meeting was quickly rescheduled, but Abdallah demanded written assurances of his own from Bush.
The White House initially balked at Abdallah’s request, concerned it would harm Sharon, officials said.
To reassure the Israelis, White House officials told Israel’s ambassador to the United States that Bush’s position was unchanged, US and Israeli officials said.
Bush said Abdallah recommended that he send a letter to Qorei to “make sure the Palestinians understand my desire for a just peace, my desire for there to be a prosperous country, my desire that the Palestinian people have a chance to realize their hopes and aspirations.”
Officials said Bush was also expected to give Abdallah written assurances that the parties must negotiate the final status of Palestinian borders and refugees.
In Jerusalem, military officials told Israel radio: ‘’Israel began construction of a fence along a six-kilometer stretch of road to protect Jewish settlements.”
Vice Premier Ehud Olmert hinted the barrier was a temporary measure until Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip.
In an interview with the Jerusalem Post, Olmert said Sharon would win Cabinet approval within weeks despite his party’s rejection of the “disengagement plan”. “The prime minister must now create a mechanism that will allow him to pass this resolution.”
Amid heightened tensions, Yasser Arafat’s bodyguards fortified his West Bank headquarters with wrecked cars and cement-filled barrels, saying they feared an Israeli push into the compound to expel the Palestinian president.
