Mideast - AFP
Sharon aide comes back empty-handed from US talks on "disengagement plan"
Date: Fri Mar 26, 5:55 AM ET
JERUSALEM (AFP) - Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon (news - web sites)'s top aide Dov Weisglass came back empty-handed from talks in the United States aimed at securing backing for the so-called "disengagement plan", the Israeli media reported.
After three days of talks with White House national security adviser Condoleezza Rice (news - web sites), Weisglass failed to obtain Washington's support for the plan, a package of unilateral measures, including a withdrawal from most of the Gaza Strip (news - web sites).
Israeli newspapers revealed Thursday that Sharon offered to dismantle an additional six isolated settlements in the West Bank as a bargaining chip for US support.
In exchange, the media said Sharon wanted the United States to formally approve Israel's maintenance of settlement blocs in the West Bank where most of the 230,000 settlers live.
He is also looking for a declaration that Palestinian refugees can have "no right to return" to Israel after the creation of their own state.
An Israeli official contacted by AFP refused to confirm the US refusal but said: "One thing is certain, the dialogue will continue."
The US State Department announced Wednesday that three senior diplomats were due to return to the region for a new round of talks on the disengagement plan next week.
Assistant US Secretary of State for Near East Affairs William Burns, deputy national security advisor Stephen Hadley and National Security Council Middle East director Eliot Abrams have been involved in a number of rounds of talks with Sharon and senior officials in recent weeks.
According to commentators, US guarantees are vital on the domestic front for the prime minister, who is not supported by a majority within his own cabinet.
Sharon proposed these unilateral measures in the absence of a dialogue with the Palestinians, but the far-right opposes relinquishing any land and supports the Jewish settlers.
SOURCE
FAIR USE NOTICE
This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.