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Yeah, *this* is gonna help us in Iraq:

Bush Endorses Sharon's Withdrawal Plan
President Won't Back Palestinians' 'Right of Return' to Israel

By Dana Milbank
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, April 14, 2004; 2:21 PM

President Bush this afternoon embraced a new Israeli policy toward the Palestinians, applauding a unilateral Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and declaring that Israel can keep some of the occupied West Bank permanently and that Palestinian refugees would not have the right to return to Israel.

In an appearance with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and in an exchange of letters to be made public later today, Bush accepted essentially all of what the Israeli leader had sought. The move substantially changes U.S. policy toward the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, softening the American objection to Israel's settlements and dropping a reluctance to dictate terms of a final peace settlement.

"In light of new realities on the ground, including already existing major Israeli population centers, it is unrealistic to expect that the outcome of final status negotiations will be a full and complete return to the armistice lines of 1949, and all previous efforts to negotiate a two-state solution have reached the same conclusion," Bush said. "It is realistic to expect that any final status agreement will only be achieved on the basis of mutually agreed changes that reflect these realities."

Bush also rejected a Palestinian "right of return" to Israeli territory as part of any final settlement. "It seems clear that an agreed, just, fair and realistic framework for a solution to the Palestinian refugee issue as part of any final status agreement will need to be found through the establishment of a Palestinian state and the settling of Palestinian refugees there rather than Israel," he said.

Bush said, however, that the security fence Israel is erecting to separate part of the Palestinian territories "should be temporary rather than permanent, and therefore not prejudice any final status issues, including final borders."

Bush's stance in favor of Sharon's policy of "disengagement" and promise that Israel need not return to its pre-1967 borders has the potential to further inflame relations between the United States and the Arab world. Although Arab states are opposed to the security fence, they have urged Bush not to allow Israel to use its unilateral withdrawal from Gaza to mean that it will keep its position in the West Bank. As he did Monday with Egyptian Prime Minister Hosni Mubarak, Bush restated his commitment to a U.S. "roadmap" to Middle Eastern peace that would lead to territorial negotiations and a final settlement.

"These are historic and courageous actions," Bush said this afternoon, sharing a stage at the White House with a beaming Sharon. "If all parties choose to embrace this moment they can open the door to progress and put an end to one of the world's longest-running conflicts."

In response to a question, Bush said Sharon's policy, which also includes a unilateral departure from parts of the West Bank, means Sharon "is beginning to implement a vision that allows for contiguous territory so that a Palestinian state can emerge." That action, he said "accelerates the process" toward peace.

Asked about former president Jimmy Carter's recent charge that U.S. policy is tilted toward Israel, Bush replied that he is the first president to explicitly advocate a Palestinian state. "U.S.-Middle East policy is tilted toward peace, and the best way to achieve peace is to fight terror," he said. He said Sharon, with his new plan, "stepped up" to his responsibilities. "The Arab world has got responsibilities to help not only fight terror, but to provide hope for a peaceful Palestinian people," he said.

Bush argued that "the United States will not prejudice the outcome of final status negotiations," but explained why certain requirements must be imposed. "The realities on the ground and in the region have changed greatly over the last several decades, and any final settlement must take into account those realities and be agreeable to the parties," he said.

"Historic." Jesus. US involvement in the Israeli conflict has been eternally narrowminded and one-sided, and terming anything Sharon does as "historic" is merely a perpetuation of that ignorance.

Here's an interesting quote from Sharon just before he left for Washington:

"The Palestinians may understand that disengagement is a mortal blow to them. Otherwise they would not be struggling against it so much all over the world. Only an Israeli initiative will ensure the essential interests of Israel, only an Israeli initiative will halt the Palestinian dream of returning to the 1967 borders and flooding Israel with refugees," the prime minister said.

And this is from today's press conference with Bush and Blair:

Q: Mr. Sharon says this agreement by the president has ended the dreams of Palestinians. Many Palestinians seem to agree with that as well.

Why do you two not see it in that light? The Israelis see it as a victory for their side.

BLAIR: Well, I don't - I haven't come across those particular words and I would like to see the context of that.

But I don't think that this ends anyone's dream. I think what it does is give us at least the possibility of moving it forward.

Look, what have people been asking for years? They've been asking for the Israelis to withdraw from the occupied territories.

Now, this is not the final end of it. This is not a unilateral attempt to impose a settlement, but it does at least give the Palestinians, if they're able then to seize this opportunity, the ability to construct in the Gaza and those parts of the West Bank that will be under their control, with the settlements removed from there - and remember, I can't remember exactly how many people it is; it's maybe 7,000 ...

BUSH: Yes.

BLAIR: ... people that there are in the Gaza part - and those settlements are withdrawn.

Now, you know, forgive me, but I have been dealing with this for almost a decade, and it's been very, very difficult ever to get a situation where an Israeli prime minister's prepared to say, We're actually going to take these settlements away, and make that not conditional on something that the Palestinians are doing, but say, We're just going to do that.

Now, of course, there's a whole string of things that then have to be decided. All these issues have to be negotiated. We have to get back into the road map and get on a proper process toward a resolution of those issues.

But if that disengagement takes place, surely the intelligent thing, not just for the Palestinians, but for the international community, is to be ready to respond.

And here's where the quartet can play a part, the other partners in this process. The European Union, for example. I mean, we've put money into reconstruction in the Palestinian Authority. I believe that there's a real possibility, if we can get the right political system there, of the European Union putting money in to help reconstruct the country, to help build the proper security capability.

These are things, however difficult, that offer opportunities. That's all I'm saying. And I think we have seize them.

BUSH: Let me say one quick thing about this. I hadn't seen the context in which he said it either, but I can tell you what he told me. He told me he supported a Palestinian state. He thinks it's in Israel's interest that there be a Palestinian state.

Obviously there's a caveat - he wants a peaceful Palestinian state. I mean, he wants somebody who will promote peace, not violence, somebody who's willing to join with a lot of us to fight off terror.

He also recognizes that it's important that there be hope in his neighborhood. And a peaceful Palestinian state that gets help from the world is a state that can help small businesses grow, help an education system develop, help a health care system develop that provides basic services to its people.

I think this is a great opportunity. And you're going to have to ask him exactly whether that was in context or not.

But the impression I got from having sat with the man right upstairs here in the White House was he views it as a hopeful moment as well and made it clear that it's a part of the road map process, and knows what I know: that as we gain confidence in a Palestinian leadership and a Palestinian state that committed itself to peace, further progress will be made - further progress will be made on territory.

And therefore at the final status discussions - and I repeat, which are not being prejudged by the American government, as stated clearly on Wednesday - will be easier to deal with. And that's what's important.

Seize the moment is what the prime minister's saying.

Uh huh.

Here's a bonus quote from the Bush/Blair appearance, which really boosts my confidence. (Thanks to Atrios for pointing this out.)

Q: (Egyptian President) Hosni Mubarak is saying the new U.S. policy on the West Bank could escalate violence. How do you respond to his concerns?

BUSH: Yes, I think this is a fantastic opportunity. You know, the fact that (Israeli Prime Minister) Ariel Sharon said, We're going to withdraw from territory, is a historic moment. And it creates a chance for the world to come together to help develop a Palestinian state based upon a solid foundation, a foundation where the institutions are bigger than the people, just like our respective governments are founded.

It's a chance to provide a framework for international aid that will help a Palestinian economy grow. It's a chance for people to come together to work on measures that will enable people to live in peace, security measures.

This is a historic moment. And I think people need to view it as such and seize the moment and help a Palestinian state become a reality, a Palestinian state that can live in peace with its neighbors.

And, you know, there's a lot of talk about the final status discussions and that's all in good. The problem is that people, by doing so, don't pay attention to the moment. And it's a moment we've got to seize.

The final status discussions will become a lot plainer - and by the way, we're not going to prejudge the final status discussions. But the answer's become a lot plainer once there's a peaceful state that's committed to fighting off terror and a state that's capable of providing hope for its people.

I think it's possible. And the prime minister and I have spent a lot of time in this subject, and I'm not going to put words in his mouth, but he thinks it's possible. And we look forward to working together to make it possible.

But it's going to require a commitment by the Palestinian people to find leadership that is committed to peace and hope. And it's going to require a commitment by people in the neighborhood to support the emergence of a state.

This is a historic moment. I appreciate the prime minister of Israel coming here to announce it. We intend to seize the moment and to take advantage of an opportunity.

Ryan