OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, 11 August 2003 — Israel is set to come under new pressure to tailor its plans for a controversial security barrier in the West Bank when the top US diplomat for the Middle East meets leaders here this week.
William Burns, assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs, is due to arrive tomorrow for talks with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom and Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz. His visit comes amid a rare bout of criticism from the United State towards its chief regional ally over the path of the security barrier which President George W. Bush has said threatens to undermine the peace process.
Burns made clear on a visit to Moscow last week that Washington would continue to use its leverage to prompt concessions. “We are going to press our concerns in conversations with the Israelis,” he told reporters ahead of his trip to the Middle East, which will also feature talks with top Palestinian officials.
A US diplomatic source said that Washington feared the barrier could make things “more difficult at final status talks” for any two-state settlement. The United States is a chief sponsor of the so-called road map for peace which envisages an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel by 2005. “Our concerns are not with the fence per se. We understand that it’s a security issue,” the source added. “Our concerns are with the actual path which takes it into Palestinian territory.” Palestinians regard the barrier as a bid by Israel to pre-empt the boundaries of any settlement although Israel has insisted it is merely to prevent incursions by militants planning attacks.
While Sharon insisted that construction would continue when he met Bush at the White House late last month, there is little doubt that Washington’s concerns are being heard. A close aide to Sharon told AFP late last week that “it is possible to find alternatives to the route... taking into account the remarks of the Americans.”
He also echoed Sharon’s pledge in Washington “to minimise any possible damage caused to the Palestinians by the construction.”
US Secretary of State Colin Powell has said Washington is considering whether to penalize Israel for construction of the barrier by withholding some of nine billion dollars in loan guarantees for Tel Aviv. The proposal, being pushed by the State Department, is based on US legislation authorizing the loan guarantees that allows Washington to deduct the amount Israel spends on settlements from the aid.
A first 140-kilometer stretch of the montage of fencing, wall and wiring along the northern West Bank was completed in late July and another leg of 60-70 kilometers is under construction to the east of that.
