Bush Affirms Israel's Right To Defense
As more violence was reported in the West Bank, President Bush Monday backed Israel's right to defend itself and insisted Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat move further down the road to reform before a Middle East peace summit could be held.
"Israel has right to defend herself, and at the same time that Israel does so, the prime minister is willing to discuss the conditions necessary to achieve what we want, which is a secure region and a hopeful region," Mr. Bush told reporters.
Sharon didn't get everything he wanted from Mr. Bush during their hourlong session and separate lunch. The president stopped short of endorsing calls to expel Arafat, and aides said he would pursue political talks despite Sharon's misgivings.
Even so, Sharon was pleased with the meeting's outcome, said a senior official in the Israeli party. The official, briefing reporters on condition of anonymity, said Sharon told Mr. Bush the military operation around Arafat's Ramallah compound had been planned to occur several days earlier.
It was postponed because many of those being sought had fled the area, but they then returned, apparently mistakenly believing that Israel would not initiate military action while Sharon was in Washington, the Israeli official said.
Violence did not let up as the two leaders conferred. Israeli military sources said a Palestinian gunman opened fire at a convoy of Israeli civilian cars escorted by an army jeep along a road near a settlement in the Gaza Strip. He was killed when they returned fire.
The incident came after Israel sent tanks into the West Bank town of Ramallah to encircle Arafat's already battered headquarters and drive home a message that the Palestinian leader had failed to stop suicide attacks against Israelis.
Mr. Bush renewed his call for dramatic reforms of the Palestinian Authority, saying the changes are needed before any progress can be made toward peace. He suggested a Mideast peace conference will not be held soon.
"The conditions aren't even there yet. That's because no one has confidence in the emerging Palestinian government. So first things first: Which institutions are necessary to give the Palestinian people hope and to give the Israelis the confidence that the emerging government will be someone with whom they can deal," Mr. Bush said.
Sitting at the president's side, Sharon reiterated his view that there must be a cessation of violence before negotiations can be fruitful. He said of Arafat: "At present time, we don't see yet a partner."
Mr. Bush was almost as dismissive, suggesting the United States is eager to find other Palestinian leaders more willing to change.
"I am disappointed that he has not led in such a way that the Palestinian people have hope and confidence," the president said.
The session is likely the last high-profile consultation meeting Mr. Bush will conduct before unveiling his own plans to jump start the embattled peace process.
Sharon will meet with congressional leaders Tuesday. He is determined to leave his imprint on evolving U.S. plans for Mideast peace, expected to be announced in a few weeks. The prime minister is counseling a gradual approach in which substantive talks do not begin until the Palestinians halt attacks on Israelis, where the pace of negotiations is linked to continued calm and the most intractable disputes between the two sides are put on the back burner.
The Palestinians and most Arab countries want a timeline for negotiations and a pre-stated date for Palestinian statehood.
Hours before Sharon's appointment with Mr. Bush, Israeli troops moved into Ramallah and surrounded Arafat's compound, an army spokesman said.
The unidentified spokesman said the soldiers were deployed to prevent gunmen from entering the compound but did not enter it themselves. Palestinians officials said Arafat was inside the compound and was unharmed.
One Palestinian was killed and two wounded in exchanges of fire, Palestinian doctors said. Two soldiers were also wounded, the army said.
Despite the flare-up, two top U.S. officials just back from the Middle East "both gave the president reason to hope that the peace process can move forward," Fleischer said. CIA Director George Tenet and Assistant Secretary of State William Burns told Mr. Bush they believe there's a willingness by Israel and the Palestinians to resume the peace process, CBS News Correspondent Mark Knoller reports.