Sharon to retain security fence
Israel President Ariel Sharon met his US counterpart George W Bush in Washington yesterday to discuss the controversial “snaking” security fence slithering its way through the occupied West Bank.
Mr Bush heard that the Israeli leader would not comply with requests from the Palestinian side for the fence to be torn down.
Mr Sharon insisted that despite commitments from both sides to honour the planned three-month cease-fire, the fence was necessary, as Palestinian militancy was still a major security risk.
At a joint press conference in the Rose Garden with Mr Bush, Mr Sharon said: “The quiet could be shattered any minute, as a result of the continuing existence of terror organisations that the Palestinian Authority is doing nothing to eliminate.”
Mr Bush backed Israel’s insistence that the Palestinian leadership deal with militancy and advocates of suicide bombings.
“The Palestinian Authority must undertake sustained, targeted and effective operations to confront those engaged in terror and to dismantle terrorist capabilities and infrastructure.”
But Mr Bush said the fence remained “a sensitive issue.”
Mr Sharon’s eighth visit to the White House as prime minister came after Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas was warmly welcomed in Washington last week and congratulated on his “vision and courage.”
At that time, Mr Bush said the fence signified a “problem” preventing the smooth unfolding of the “road map” for peace in the Middle East, formulated under the auspices of a “Quartet” of powers – the US, the EU, Russia, and the UN, which prepares the way for the creation of a Palestinian state by 2005.
Mr Abbas also requested Mr Bush to pressure Israel to curb Jewish settlement outposts on the West Bank. A request declined by Mr Sharon.
Separately, Mr Abbas’ spokesman has announced the prime minister will make his first official visit to a European Union country, with a trip to Italy next month.
Mr Abbas is expected to meet Pope John Paul and Italian Prime Minister Berlusconi on the August 25-26.
