Bush Tilts on an Israeli Plan

http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0413/p08s02-comv.html

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Sharon knows a US president is most compliant before an election, and while the wording of Bush's approval may be subtle, Sharon's words have been blunt: "In the unilateral process, there is no Palestinian state," he told an Israeli newspaper. "This situation could continue for many years."

Besides rejecting that idea, Bush needs to specifically oppose the portion of the Sharon plan that would make about 15 percent of the West Bank offbounds for a Palestinian state and retain it as a permanent home for Israeli settlers. In effect, Sharon wants the US to say officially that a chunk of the land taken in the 1967 war can be annexed to Israel for all time. Simply backing Israel's removal of 7,500 Israeli settlers from Gaza, while leaving more than 200,000 of them on the West Bank, is hardly a deal for peace.