Whether it’s any indication of a change in official US policy may be too early to tell, but according to the Israeli news website, Inyan Merkazi, Israeli caretaker Prime Minsiter Ehud Barak was snubbed earlier this week, when he requested a telephone conversation with the recently sworn-in US President, George W. Bush.
The Israeli premier had reportedly called the new president to congratulate
him on his recent inauguration, and at the same time provide him with an
Israeli perspective on the state of the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks
currently underway in the Egyptian resort town of Taba. But he was
diplomatically brushed off, and referred instead to the new secretary of state,
Colin Powell.
Sources in Washington told Inyan Merkazi that, unlike former President
Bill Clinton, who used to boast that he could draw a map of the West Bank with
his eyes closed, Bush intends keeping his direct involvement in the Middle East
peace process to a bare minimum. Furthermore, the sources said, Bush is
reluctant to make high-level contact with Israelis so soon after entering the
White House, in order not to send a message to the Arab world that his
administration is pro-Israeli. In any case, the sources emphasized, the Middle
East is not at the top of the new president’s agenda.
Sources close to Barak, who is less than two weeks away from a special election
for prime minister with the rightwing candidate, Ariel Sharon, noted that Bush
might not want to inadvertently become involved in Israel’s election campaign --Albawaba.com
