WASHINGTON — President George Bush has agreed to monitor the Israeli
withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and northern West Bank.
U.S. officials said Bush accepted a request from the Palestinian
Authority to monitor the Israeli military withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and
northern West Bank and the eviction of their 10,000 Jewish residents.
After his meeting with Abbas, Bush called on Israel to freeze all
construction in the West Bank, dismantle unauthorized West Bank outposts and
avoid permanent changes in Jerusalem, Middle East Newsline reported.
Officials said Bush was pleased by the performance of PA security forces
in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The officials said that despite Israeli
complaints White House envoy Lt. Gen. William Ward relayed a positive
assessment of PA efforts to halt attacks against Israel.
Officials said Bush agreed to the PA request during his meeting with PA
Chairman Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday.
"Abbas is concerned that Israel will use the withdrawal to launch a
massive military operation against Hamas and other groups in the Gaza
Strip," an official said.
Bush plans to send Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to Israel to
monitor the withdrawal, scheduled for August, and ensure PA coordination.
Officials said the president wants to ensure that Israel does not suspend or
halt the operation because of heavy resistance from Jewish residents and
their supporters.
Ms. Rice would not necessarily be in Israel during the Gaza operation,
officials said. They said she would arrive in Israel in late June or July to
monitor Israeli preparations for withdrawal and prevent any crisis between
Israel and the PA.
The president, announcing $50 million
for Palestinian infrastructure, said he intended to help create a
Palestinian state with territorial contiguity and a link between the West
Bank and Gaza Strip.
"A state of scattered territories will not work," Bush said. "There must
also be meaningful linkages between the West Bank and Gaza."
For the first time, Bush said the United States would not accept any
changes in the 1949 armstice lines without agreement by Israel and the
Palestinians. The president did not refer to his statement in April 2005
that called on Palestinians to accept the Israeli presence developed in the
West Bank over the last 35 years.
"Any final status agreement must be reached between the two parties, and
changes to the 1949 Armistice lines must be mutually agreed to," Bush said.
Israeli officials, who last month claimed that the United States pledged
to support Israeli settlement blocs in the West Bank, appeared stunned by
Bush's reference to the 1949 armstice lines, which does not include the West
Bank, Gaza Strip and much of Jerusalem. Some of the officials said the White
House signaled its determination to press Israel to withdraw to the 1967
borders.
"It's a collapse of or at least a harsh blow in U.S.-Israeli relations,"
Yuval Steinitz, chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense
Committee, said. "What we saw yesterday must worry us. There is even a U.S.
withdrawal from [United Nations Security Council resolution] 242, which
talks about 'defensible borders.'"
