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Peace Process

Bush, Peres confirm: No settlement bloc deal


By Jerusalem Newswire Editorial Staff
May 27, 2005

US President George W. Bush and Israeli Vice Premier Shimon Peres Thursday belied Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's ongoing assertion that by quitting Gaza and northern Samaria, Israel was assuring its continued sovereignty over other major settlement blocs.

Sharon has been telling Israelis for more than a year that his controversial ?disengagement? plan resulted in a letter of historic commitment from Bush, in which the president guaranteed that Israel would retain control over major Jewish population centers in Judea and Samaria as part of any final peace agreement with the PLO.

He repeated this claim when he met with American Jewish leaders in New York and Washington earlier this week.

?The President's letter,? Sharon said in a speech Sunday, ?clarified the United States' position on several critical issues for our future:

?Israel's right to defend itself by itself against any threat, and to have secure and defensible borders; the major Israeli population centers in Judea and Samaria will remain part of Israel under any permanent agreement; there will be no return to the 1967 borders; and there will be no entry of Palestinian refugees into Israel.?

But following his meeting PLO chief Mahmoud Abbas Thursday, Bush told reporters the Jews needed the Palestinian Arabs' consent to continue living in parts of their biblical heartland.

Bush explicitly stated that "any final status agreement must be reached between the two parties, and changes to the 1949 armistice lines must be mutually agreed to."

To the shock of many Israelis, the president even suggested Jerusalem was still on the negotiating table.

?Israel should not undertake any activity that...prejudices final status negotiations with regard to Gaza, the West Bank and Jerusalem,? he said.

Sharon's right-hand man, Shimon Peres, confirmed in an interview with Israel Radio Friday that Bush had never committed to Israel's continued presence in Ma'aleh Adumim, Ariel, Gush Etzion or eastern Jerusalem.

Peres noted that Bush's April 2004 letter was careful to stay in line with his previous statements that the future of all Jewish life beyond the 1967 border required PLO approval.

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