U.S. President Bush and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon failed in face-to-face talks on Tuesday to bridge their differences on major Middle East issues, including whether peace talks should result in a Palestinian state.
Following their meeting, the two leaders held a joint press conference, at which Bush said that he would be sending CIA director George Tenet back to the Middle East to work on building a new Palestinian security force.
Once Sharon had been updated on the details of the suicide attack in Rishon Letzion, he apparently decided to cut short his visit to the U.S. and will return to Israel on Wednesday.
The president, ending an Oval Office meeting that lasted more than an hour, renewed his call for a separate state for the Palestinian people. Sharon replied, "I think it's premature to discuss" that issue until Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat reforms his government.
Bush expressed optimism that Israel, the Palestinian Authority and moderate Arab leaders will join in efforts to curb “terrorist” attacks in Israel while opening negotiations toward a Palestinian state. He said Arab leaders, in particular, appear to be stepping up to a responsibility to press Arafat to reform his regime — making it more democratic and less corrupt.
"The world is rallying toward these reforms," Bush said.
However, the men offered no signs that they had resolved their many differences, AP reported. Bush wants to accelerate peace talks; Sharon wants incremental advances. Bush wants Sharon to deal with Arafat; the Israeli refuses to do so. Bush believes Saudi Arabia is a key peace partner; Sharon's government has accused the Saudis of supporting terrorism.
Bush said the security force must be a united Palestinian unit that "is held accountable." "I think it is very important that there be a unified security force, but at the same time we need to work for other institutions, a constitution for example, development of a state that can help bring security and hope to the Palestinian people and the Israelis," Bush said.
The reforms must begin as soon as possible, he said, and the United States will ask other Arab leaders to help. "It's very important for us to seize this moment and lead," Bush said.
Sharon said he would be a dedicated peace partner. "We are committed to taking every effort and every step to reach peace," he said. U.S. officials said Bush also was pushing Israel to ease economic restrictions on the Palestinians.
The president was asked if he would demand that Sharon deal with Arafat. "I'm never going to tell my friend the prime minister what to do," he said.
Sharon met with National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice before his session with Bush. (Albawaba.com)
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