Bush Vows to Pressure Sharon if PA Works to Disarm Militants
Ha'aretz June 10, 2005
[JPN
Commentary: The article below from Ha?aretz
details the apparently successful trip of Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas
to Washington this past week.
The reference to outposts to is unclear, but likely mean those that have been set up since 2001. This sort of
statement underlines the problems still inherent in a diplomatic language that
does not recognize the basic illegality of ALL Israeli settlements built on
land captured in 1967.
Still,
there certainly were some gains for Abbas in this trip. If the United
States holds to its word after the pullout and pressures Sharon to
dismantle the outposts, this will be a measurable achievement for Abbas
which he can show the Palestinian people. It will give him some
momentum in pushing forward with diplomatic, rather than violent
methods of achieving a Palestinian state. It will also give him
momentum in dealing with Hamas, allowing him to simultaneously bring
Hamas into government as a party while legitimizing steps he may take
against those planning armed attacks, should any move forward. Whether
other Palestinian groups, such as Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front and
the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade will follow the lead of a government led
by a partnership between Hamas and Fatah remains to be seen.
The
last paragraph of the article bears notice. Some Israeli officials were
quite concerned that remarks made by Bush at the press conference he
held with Abbas contradicted the contents of the letter he gave Sharon
last year. That letter promised that the US would not force Israel back
to the territory it held before the 1967 war. Bush reassured Israel
that this promise was still intact. The foolishness of the statement
has been made apparent on many occasions, this being only the latest.
Still, the lack of specificity in the statement gives Bush some wiggle
room.
There
are some indications that the Bush administration recognizes that
Sharon's plan will neither bring a permanent settlement nor will it
even be something they can sell to the American people as "the best
that could be attained". It seems unlikely, however, that they will be
willing to take the kinds of steps necessary to really bring progress. -- MP]
Bush vows
to pressure Sharon if PA works to disarm militants
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/581447.html
If
the Palestinian Authority meets its security commitments under the road map,
including its undertaking to disarm militants, the United States will demand
that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon dismantle all the illegal outposts in the West
Bank immediately after the disengagement, U.S. President George W. Bush has
promised PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen).
The U.S. administration is refraining from pressuring Sharon with regard to the
settlements out of concern that such a move would politically hamper the prime
minister's efforts to implement the pullout.
A senior political source in Jerusalem said Saturday that the report on
Thursday's Bush-Abu Mazen meeting noted that the U.S. president made it clear
to the PA leader that the existence of a single administration and a single
army were essential conditions for the establishment of a democratic
Palestinian state.
According to the report, Abu Mazen told Bush that he has no intentions of
denying Hamas the right to run in the upcoming Palestinian elections, but is
prepared to take immediate military action against any element planning acts of
violence against Israel.
The PA leader added that such action against the militants was possible only if
Israel dropped its objection to the supply of arms and additional essential
equipment to the PA security mechanisms.
Israel charges that the PA is not using the means already at its disposal, and
the problem lies in the fact that PA personnel are not willing to confront the
militants and the individuals responsible for the firing of mortars and Qassam
rockets at Israeli targets.
Meanwhile, the United States has decided to expand the powers of its Middle
East security envoy, General William Ward, in keeping with requests made by Abu
Mazen during his meeting last week with Bush.
U.S. sources confirmed over the weekend that, in addition to helping the
Palestinians implement security reforms, Ward will now also serve as a security
coordinator and mediator between the PA and Israel.
The decision is evidence of increased U.S. involvement in the process, and
reflects the American administration's dissatisfaction with the lack of
progress between the two sides regarding security cooperation in the field.
Speaking to U.S. reporters on Friday, at the end of his trip to Washington, Abu
Mazen welcomed the decision to expand Ward's authority, saying it was an
expression of America's commitment to the peace process in the region.
Until now, Israel has maintained that there is no need to expand Ward's powers,
and has expressed satisfaction with his work.
When Ward was appointed to the position of security envoy some three months
ago, he was entrusted only with the task of helping the Palestinians rebuild
and rehabilitate their security mechanisms and place them under a single
leadership.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said at the time that, in her opinion,
there was no need for third-party involvement in security coordination in the
field, and that such matters should be ironed out directly between Israel and
the Palestinians.
However, in light of the lack of progress in this regard, coupled with fears
about an outbreak of violence that could stop the process, the U.S.
administration has had a change of heart, and has decided to play a more active
role in security coordination between the sides. Ward will not be involved in
political mediation, and will focus only on ways of upping security
coordination in the field.
Since taking up his post, Ward has kept a low profile. He has refrained from
admonishing the sides for failing to live up to the understandings from the
Sharm el-Sheikh summit. While the Palestinians have charged that the U.S.
general is not doing enough, Israeli officials have told their American
interlocutors that Ward is a worthy appointment and is doing a good job,
without adopting a judgmental stance toward either side.
The U.S. administration also plans to up its diplomatic involvement in the
region, with a series of visits by senior U.S. officials on the cards. U.S.
Deputy National Security Adviser Elliot Abrams and Assistant Secretary of State
for Near Eastern Affairs David Welch will visit Israel and the PA in the near
future, with Rice expected in the region in June.
Rice's visit is slated to ensure that the disengagement plan is implemented in
coordination between Israel and the PA, and will also serve to discuss ways of
moving on to the road map following the pullout.
In the wake of Israeli unease after the Bush-Abu Mazen meeting on Thursday,
U.S. officials made it clear over the weekend that the promises made by the
U.S. president to the PA chairman did not deviate from Washington's well-known
stance with regard to the Middle East. National Security Council spokesman
Frederick Jones said that Bush's statements to Abu Mazen reiterated the
president's declarations in his June 24, 2004, speech and in his letter of
guarantees to Sharon.