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"The U.S. demands have simply ignored their previous commitments to
Israeli security," an official said.
The concern was expressed on the eve of the Annapolis, Md. conference. Officials said that over the last
two weeks, the administration, particularly Secretary of State Condoleezza
Rice, appeared to have abandoned U.S. commitments to Israel, including one
in 2004 that recognized Israeli blocs in the West Bank.
A key concern has been President George Bush's deadline for an
independent Palestinian entity throughout the West Bank. Israel Security
Agency director Yuval Diskin said the goal of establishing such a state
within 14 months was dangerous, and that no viable Palestinian partner would
be found.
Officials said the most important U.S. commitment was a letter by Bush
in 2004 meant to encourage the unilateral Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza
Strip. The letter was said to have cited American recognition that in any
final agreement with the Palestinians, Israel would not return to the 1967
borders.
"There is a serious question about the exact standing of the Bush letter
on the eve of Annapolis," former Israeli ambassador to the United Nations,
Dore Gold, said.
Gold, a consultant to the government of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert,
cited Ms. Rice's statement of Nov. 13 that "most Israelis are ready to leave
nearly all of the West Bank, just as they were ready to leave Gaza for the
sake of peace." Gold said the secretary ignored public opinion
polls that showed Israeli support for the retention of the Jordan Valley.
"Having decided to convene the Annapolis meeting, the Bush
administration is under enormous pressure to make sure it succeeds," Gold
said. "The situation that has been created provides the Arab states with
enormous leverage over Washington to revise its positions on the core issues
in order to obtain their attendance at a high enough level."
"Even if the U.S. does not issue its own statement in lieu of the joint
statement, a revised U.S. position could come in the form of a presidential
address or even private communications from Washington to Arab capitals that
erode the Bush
letter and empty it of much of its original content," Gold said.
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