Separation
Wall Will Grow
By
Rupert Cornwell
Independent,
UK
30 July 2003
In a rebuff to President George Bush yesterday, Israel dug in its heels
over the controversial security fence it is building in the occupied
West Bank, saying construction of the barrier would continue because
it was essential for the country's security.
Speaking during
his eighth visit to the White House since Mr Bush took office, Ariel
Sharon, the Israeli Prime Minister, reverted to the familiar tactic
of laying the blame on the Palestinians for not moving more forcefully
to crack down on terrorism.
Although the three-month
ceasefire declared by Palestinian militant groups was holding, the terror
threat had not ceased, Mr Sharon said at a joint press conference in
the Rose Garden with Mr Bush.
"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," the Israeli Prime Minister said.
Mr Sharon met Mr
Bush just four days after the President - with Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian
Prime Minister standing beside him - called the fence (more properly
a wall) a "problem" that did not help the road-map peace plan
being pushed by the United States and other big powers for an overall
Middle East settlement by the end of 2005. The atmosphere yesterday
was one of amiable agreement to disagree. Though Israel gave so little
discernable ground, the two men were all smiles and friendliness, referring
to each other as "Ariel" and "George".
Nothing suggested
that the Bush administration, anxious not to upset its strongly pro-Israel
conservative Christian supporters, is any readier than before to lean
hard on Israel.
President Bush merely
urged Israel to "consider the consequences of its actions"
on the peace process. Mr Sharon in reply professed a desire to move
ahead, and said that the construction of the fence would as far as possible
minimise disturbance to the Palestinians. Mr Bush in turn proclaimed
once more his "unshakeable" commitment to the safety of the
Israeli people and the security of Israel.
And Mr Sharon did
not have anything new to offer on the vexed question of Israeli settlement-building,
criticised by Mr Bush in the past and whose complete freeze and subsequent
rollback - along with the removal of the fence - was bluntly demanded
by Mr Abbas last week. Under the road-map, Israel is required to halt
activity at nearly 150 formal Jewish settlements - freezing a policy
that the Palestinian Prime Minister described as a "land-grab"
by Israel. In addition, small settlement outposts that have gone up
since March 2001 must come down.
In fact, diplomats
say, while a dozen of them have been removed in recent weeks, others
have been put up. "Unauthorised outposts will be removed as required
in a law-abiding country" was as far as Mr Sharon would go yesterday.
Since the formal
launch of the road-map at President Bush's summit with Mr Abbas and
Mr Sharon in Aqaba, Jordan, last month, both sides have made some gestures,
including the ceasefire on the part of the Palestinians, and the announcement
by Israel of the release of more than 500 Palestinian prisoners and
the removal of 10 cross-border checkpoints. But neither side has made
major concessions.