Sharon firm on West Bank settlements ahead of talks with Bush
AFP
Date: 09-14-05
NEW YORK (AFP) - Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon vowed to build up West Bank settlements "as much as we need" as he prepared for talks with US President George W. Bush who has staunchly opposed any expansion.
Sharon was set to meet with Bush early Wednesday outside the UN summit here for their first talks since the Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, billed by Washington as a milestone in the peace process.
But Sharon signaled he would stand firm on the thorny issue of settlement expansion in the West Bank, despite US urgings that he freeze all activities as required by the US-backed peace road map.
"Building is continuing there; we will build as much as we need," the Israeli leader told reporters en-route to New York. As to Washington's position, he said, "We are coping with US pressure."
A senior official in Sharons delegation acknowledged "differences" with Washington over the expansion of settlements on Palestinian territory, but he felt it would not be a key issue during the talks.
"The US focus is now on Gaza. There is no focus on anything else," he told reporters on the plane.
" Israel has made a major move and the ball is now in the Palestinian court," the official said. "The US now wants to see what they do with it (Gaza) after 38 years of occupation."
The Palestinians fear Israel will follow up the unilateral Gaza withdrawal with efforts to strengthen its major enclaves in the West Bank, where some 250,000 Jewish settlers live.
But Bush has promised to resist that. The last time he met with Sharon, hosting the prime minister at his Texas ranch in April, he made clear his opposition to settlement expansion.
"Israel should remove unauthorised outposts and meet its roadmap obligations regarding settlements in the West Bank," the president said. "The roadmap clearly says no expansion of settlements."
But the issue appeared to fade as Israel implemented its momentous decision to evacuate all 21 settlements in Gaza and another four in the northern West Bank, the first Israeli withdrawals from occupied Palestinian land.
Washington is now looking to bolster Sharon and has been petitioning its European allies to hold off from pressuring him too hard to speed up further peace moves, the Israeli press reported.
Despite Sharon's determination to continue building up settlements in the West Bank, the talks with Bush were expected to focus squarely on the gains achieved through the Gaza withdrawal.
In the light of the devastation wreaked by Hurricane Katrina, Sharon said Israel would defer a request for US aid to help defray the financial costs of withdrawing from Gaza.
Israel had reportedly requested more than two billion dollars to help pay for resettlement of the Gaza settlers and other operations.
But Sharon said Tuesday, "I don't think it would be suitable (to request aid) at this time so we will wait a while."
During the three-day summit, Sharon is expected to meet with British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Russian President Vladimir Putin and other top European leaders. He will also hold talks with King Abdullah of Jordan.
Despite first-ever official contacts between the Israeli and Pakistani foreign ministers earlier this month, Sharon denied there was any official meeting set with Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf.
However, he did not deny reports the two could hold an impromptu meeting on the sidelines of the summit. "There are no coincidental meetings," he told reporters Tuesday, without commenting further.
Sharon was coy about reports that he could hold talks with Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa al-Thani for what would be Israels first official contacts with the Gulf country.
He said Israel "has a relationship with Qatar ... but nothing has been set yet."
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