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Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and U.S. President George W. Bush in a previous meeting.
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| By Ellis Shuman April 11, 2004 |
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Prime Minister Ariel Sharon leaves Monday night for Washington to discuss his plan for a unilateral Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip with U.S. President George W. Bush. According to media reports, in announcing his support for the plan, Bush will not insist on Israel's future return to the 1949 borders. Sharon hopes the results of his U.S. visit will help him win a referendum of Likud Party voters later this month.
Sharon's bureau chief attorney Dov Weisglass, National Security Adviser Giora Eiland, and foreign policy adviser Shalom Turjeman left last night for Washington to meet with their American counterparts, led by Deputy National Security Adviser Steve Hadley. The sides will finish work on letters to be exchanged between Sharon and Bush when they meet in the White House on Wednesday, Haaretz reported.
According to the Haaretz report, the American letter given to Sharon will state that the determination of borders in a final status accord between Israel and the Palestinians will take into consideration "demographic realities" on the ground.
According to Haaretz, Bush's letter to Sharon will also contain the following:
 Reiteration of America's commitment to Israel's security and to the preservation of its strategic qualitative edge.
A statement of commitment to the road map, and to the prevention of other diplomatic initiatives.
Recognition of Israel's right to self defense and its right, as need arises, to carry out anti-terror operations in areas from which its forces are to be withdrawn.
A declaration that Palestinian refugees can be absorbed in the future in the Palestinian state, just as Jewish refugees from Arab states were absorbed in Israel.
Originally, Sharon had pushed for U.S. recognition of Israel's continued sovereignty over "settlement blocs," but in the end accepted the more general statement that Israel will not be asked to withdraw to the Green Line border, the newspaper reported.
Sharon will provide Bush with details of the disengagement plan, which include a total Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, except for the Philadelphi Corridor along the Egyptian border, and the evacuation of four Israeli settlements in the northern West Bank.
Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell told the Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday that the U.S. will not withhold loan guarantees to Israel on account of the security fence.
"Israel has a right to build a fence to protect itself if it feels that's what it needs to keep the terrorists from getting into Israel. The Israelis have made some adjustments to the fence over time and they've taken the fence down in some places, once they have had a chance to take a second look at the impact that the fence has had. But at the moment, we don't have any plans to dock them over the route of the fence," Powell said.
According to some media reports, the U.S. will provide Israel with substantial financial aid in developing communities and infrastructure in the Negev Desert in compensation for an Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. Israeli officials have insisted, however, that the U.S. will not finance the Gaza withdrawal.
American support crucial ahead of Likud vote
Securing American support and compensation for the disengagement plan is essential for Sharon's strategy to bring the plan to a referendum of Likud voters at the end of the month, Maariv reported. The U.S. statement on Palestinian refugees and the completion of the security barrier were among the conditions listed by Finance Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, whose support is critical to Sharon's efforts to win Likud support.
Upon his return from Washington, Sharon will continue to meet with key Likud ministers and Knesset members in efforts to win their support for the plan. Opponents of the plan said that Israel is not receiving anything from the U.S. except for general statements, the Jerusalem Post reported.
Agriculture Minister Yisrael Katz met with Sharon on Saturday night and informed him that he would be launching a personal campaign against the disengagement plan. Previously, ministers Uzi Landau and Natan Sharansky had organized a Likud forum to campaign against the plan.
"I told Sharon that I oppose withdrawing unilaterally and that everyone in the Likud must do everything possible to contribute to stop the plan," Katz told the Jerusalem Post. "But I told him that out of respect, I will not work against the plan while he is in Washington."
Sharon has asked the Likud Party central elections committee to schedule the referendum vote among the party's 200,000 registered voters for April 29, just after Independence Day. Sharon has stated that he will honor his party's vote, and that if he received its approval, he would bring the plan to the government on May 2, and to the Knesset immediately afterwards. According to Maariv, Sharon admitted in talks with Knesset members on Thursday that winning the Likud vote was not guaranteed.
MK Gilad Erdan, one of the Likud's main opponents to the plan, petitioned the committee to demand that Sharon's request to move up the date of the referendum be rejected. Erdan said that the Likud committee should allow at least 21 days of discussion about the plan from when Sharon releases its details, which have yet to be made public, Erdan said.
"I think that what made the prime minister's advisers pull this political trick is their own fear of our (opposition) campaign," Erdan told Israel Radio. "They understand that with every day that passes, Likud members study the ramifications of the program further and more and more of them oppose it."
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