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U.S. Trying to Get Europe, Arabs Behind Disengagement Plan

(Ha'aretz) Aluf Benn - The U.S. administration is trying to persuade European and Arab states as well as the PA to support Prime Minister Sharon's disengagement plan. National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice has been telling European officials in recent days that the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza could lead to a "Middle East parallel" of the fall of the Berlin Wall. According to reports from Washington, the administration supports the Sharon plan and the only question is at what price and whether the U.S. will agree to Israeli demands like allowing Jerusalem to step up construction in the settlement blocs and freeing Israel of the need to negotiate with the Palestinians as long as Arafat heads the PA. A White House official said the Sharon plan is a chance for "an enormous and historical change" in Israeli-Arab relations. But the reports also said the Americans will only accept the plan if it is executed in coordination with the Palestinians. Danish Foreign Minister Per Stig Moeller, visiting Israel on Thursday, proposed posting an international force in Gaza and the West Bank after Israel's disengagement. Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom rejected the idea, saying an international force would not be able to halt terror, but would prevent Israel from doing so.
2004-02-27 00:00:00
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