The Bush administration has pressed Israel to end all construction
in the West Bank and Gaza Strip over the next few weeks.
U.S. officials said the demand was delivered to Prime Minister Ariel
Sharon and was
listed as a priority in the so-called roadmap for an Israeli-Palestinian
peace process drafted by the United States, United Nations, the European
Union and Russia.
President George Bush, officials said, will press Israel for a number of
measures toward the Palestinians by the end of the year, Middle East Newsline reported. These include the
transfer of hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue for the Palestinian
Authority being held by Israel. Another measure is a freeze on
construction in Jewish settlements, a key demand by the Palestinian
Authority.
"Alongside that maximum effort to stop terror, there must also be
immediate progress to alleviate the suffering of Palestinian citizens and
restore a sense of hope and dignity," Assistant Secretary of State William
Burns said. "President Bush has made clear that this means return
of tax revenue withheld by Israel to responsible Palestinian hands. It also
means stopping all Israeli settlement activity, including the natural
growth of existing settlements, consistent with the Mitchell Report of last
year."
The proposed roadmap will be the focus of talks by U.S. Assistant
Secretary of State David Satterfield in Israel on Monday. Officials said
Satterfield will press Israel to release all of the $425 million meant for
the PA but frozen amid the war with the Palestinians. The Sharon government
has expressed reservations over the plan and Foreign Minister Binyamin
Netanyahu has declared it irrelevant.
Israel insists that it has ended the construction of new communities in
the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Israeli officials said the government allows
for the construction of homes within existing communities to accommodate
their natural growth.
Burns told the World Affairs Council on Friday that the demand for
Israel to stop construction aims to allow the Palestinians to launch their
reform policies. The reforms include the drafting of a constitution and
plans for elections.
"All of these steps must ultimately come from within, and Palestinians
must have the space and the encouragement to carry them out," Burns said.
"All parties will have to meet their responsibilities if we are to make any
progress, but President Bush has made clear that the United States will play
an active leadership role."
Senior U.S. officials have pledged to Arab allies of the United States
that the administration will seek to quickly implement the roadmap. The
officials said the message was relayed by both Burns and Undersecretary of
State Marc Grossman during their tour of the Middle East and Persian Gulf
over the last two weeks.
"We believe that this can be done, it can be done quickly and should be
done for the benefit of both the Palestinian people and also for Israelis,"
Grossman said in an interview to Moroccan television.
