(Jerusalem Post) Herb Keinon and Janine Zacharia - After a meeting in Washington Tuesday between National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice and Prime Minister Sharon's bureau chief Dov Weisglass, White House National Security Council spokesman Sean McCormack said: "During Prime Minister Sharon's meeting with President Bush last April, the prime minister presented a plan that included withdrawal from certain military installations and all settlements in Gaza and withdrawal of certain military installations and settlements in the West Bank. It is that plan that President Bush endorsed in his statement on April 14, 2004, as a bold initiative that could advance the cause of peace and it is that plan that he supports and no other." Sources in Washington said that since no specific timeline was sketched out in the original plan, the White House may be open to a phased approach, so long as the Gaza withdrawal is completed as originally envisioned. One Israeli diplomatic official said that although Bush obviously wants to see Sharon pass the plan, it is hard to believe that on the eve of a U.S. election he would lower the level of ties with Israel if the plan was rejected by the Cabinet.
2004-06-02 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive