WASHINGTON, April 14 (UPI) -- Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon obtained what he came to Washington for: an unequivocal, ironclad guarantee from the American president offering security to Israel and support for his unilateral withdrawal plan from the Gaza Strip and parts of the West Bank. And he got it in writing.
In short, Israel gets to keep a number of settlements in the West Bank. Just hours before departing Israel, Sharon announced that large Israeli settlement blocks such as Maaleh Adumim, Givat Zeev, Ariel and Kiryat Arba would remain in the West Bank forever.
Welcoming Sharon to the White House Wednesday, President George W. Bush ignored this move, which is a reversal of previous U.S. policy, and offered the Israeli leader a letter outlining Washington's unwavering support for the plan, which Bush called "historic and courageous."
"In an exchange of letters today and in a statement I will release later today," said Bush, "I'm repeating to the prime minister my commitment to Israel's security."
Sharon now returns to Israel strengthened by Washington's steady support for his policies, and with new ammunition with which to face both his political opponents and the Palestinians without having to look back.
Bush said these steps would open the door to progress toward a peaceful, democratic and viable Palestinian state. "It offers promise for the Palestinian people to build a modern economy that will lift millions out of poverty, create the institutions and habits of liberty, and renounce the terror and violence that impede their aspirations and take a terrible toll on innocent life," said Bush.
Sharon said his plan would create a "new and better reality for Israel" and have the potential to create the right conditions to resume negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.
Sharon's Palestinian interlocutors, however, see the matter under a very different -- and negative -- light.
"I'm actually disgusted by it," Diana Buttu, legal adviser to the Palestinian negotiations team, told United Press International. "It's actually a bigger picture."
Buttu said Sharon's plan -- now with U.S. blessings -- will "allow Israel to ethnically cleanse the (Palestinian) territories."
Buttu pointed out that Sharon's plan is not based on politics, but on power. "It's simply repackaging the occupation in a different form." Israeli settlers who will be removed from Gaza will simply be resettled in other parts of the West Bank, which says, Buttu, will only amplify the problem, instead of offering a viable solution.
According to the Palestine Liberation Organization, Israeli presence -- both military and civilian -- will remain in the territories following Israel's withdrawal. Israel, they say, will continue to police the border between Gaza and Egypt, for example.
In typical Levantine politics then, the end of the occupation really does not herald the end of the occupation.
Replying to Bush's call on the Palestinians "to match that boldness and that courage," Buttu lamented that there is nothing left that the Palestinian Authority can do. The Israelis, she said, "have systemically destroyed it over the last three years." Since the outbreak of the second intifada, or uprising, the Palestinian Authority security apparatus in the territories was all but dismantled by Israel. And adds Buttu, the United States and Israel have four times blocked attempts at elections in the Palestinian Authority.
Palestinians accuse Bush of simply caving in to Israeli pressure for support. They say that he, too, is acting unilaterally without conferring with the other three members of the Quartet -- the European Union, United Nations and Russia -- who helped draft the Middle East "road map" that calls for a settlement of the dispute and the creation of a Palestinian state by 2005.
That now seems unlikely. By accepting Sharon's plan and offering Washington's assurances on borders, settlements and the non-return of refugees, Bush has "prejudiced three key elements of a final status agreement," says Samar Assad, a senior analyst with the Palestine Center in Washington.
"U.S. credibility in Palestine is not very high," said Buttu. In fact, Bush's unilateral backing of the Sharon plan goes counter the bilateralism called for in the "road map."
Left with what they regard as little choice, many Palestinians, including PA President Yasser Arafat and Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia, now say that they could forgo attempts at establishing an independent Palestinian state, as called for by the "road map," and instead demand "equal citizenship" in Israel.
There is a growing undercurrent in the occupied Palestinian territories that the move towards independence is not getting the Palestinians anywhere fast. In fact, many Palestinians complain that the situation has spiraled downhill at an alarming pace since the signing of the Oslo Peace Accords and the subsequent arrival of Arafat and his followers in the territories.
The trend appears to be growing, and according to one high-level PLO official, "it might be time to forget about vying for a Palestinian state, and joining Israel." The reality of such a move would throw an enormous spanner in the works, further complicating matters.
Israel, of course, sees through this maneuver as a backhanded tactic which would overnight give the Palestinians an upper hand in Israeli politics. It would then simply be a matter of time -- and demographics -- before Jews would become a minority in Israel and Israel would by default, cease to exist.
Bush's plea for all parties to embrace this moment so "they can open the door to progress and put an end to one of the world's longest-running conflicts," will likely be more preaching in the desert.
"A solution that does not include the Palestinians or protect their national interests will not last," said Assad.
