Politics

Bush Skips Jewish Settlements

November 30, 1998 / 1:43 PM EST / AP

Texas Gov. George W. Bush, the front-runner for the GOP presidential nomination in 2000, flew over the West Bank on Tuesday, but he did not touch down to visit Jewish settlements as initially planned.

The helicopter tour was led by Israeli Foreign Minister Ariel Sharon. From the air, Sharon showed Bush and his Republican colleagues from Utah, Montana and Massachusetts the West Bank areas Israel hopes to annex as part of a permanent peace agreement with the Palestinians, a statement from Sharon's office said.

The Palestinians want to gain control over all of the West Bank and establish an independent state there and in the Gaza Strip.

The governors' tour of Israel is organized by the National Jewish Coalition, a group of American Jews whose right-wing sentiments mirror the policies of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government.

The governors had planned to land in two Jewish settlements, Alfei Menashe and Kohav Hashahar, as part of the West Bank flyover. However, the two stopovers were canceled Monday amid concerns that a settlement visit could trigger angry responses from the Palestinians.

Israel's expansion of Jewish settlements has been staunchly opposed by successive U.S. leaders, including Bush's father, former President George Bush.

Earlier Tuesday, Bush and the three other governors, Marc Racicot from Montana, Paul Cellucci from Massachusetts and Mike Leavitt from Utah, visited Israel Aircraft Industries. They were shown the Arrow, an anti-missile missile being developed by Israel with heavy U.S. funding.

Bush has said he had not yet decided if he is going to run for president in 2000. He has said that he is weighing the effect a campaign would have on his family.