Middle East: The Bush administration is ready to issue a written "guarantee" to Israel that it will not be required to withdraw from the entire West Bank, returning to its pre-1967 borders, under a permanent peace accord with the Palestinians, it was reported here yesterday.
Israeli media said the precise text of such a letter of guarantee, to be given to Prime Minister Mr Ariel Sharon by President George Bush when they meet at the White House on April 14th, was being finalized by a team of US envoys who met with Mr Sharon last night.
If such a letter is indeed issued, it would mark an unprecedented commitment by the US to support eventual annexation by Israel of parts of the West Bank - something the Palestinians fiercely oppose. The Palestinians are seeking independent statehood on all territory in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem captured by Israel in the 1967 war.
The Palestinian Authority Prime Minister, Mr Ahmed Korei, reiterated after his talks with the American team yesterday that his support for Mr Sharon's planned withdrawal from Gaza and a small, undefined part of the West Bank is contingent on a subsequent full Israeli pullout from the West Bank.
As a kind of reward for his readiness for a partial pullout, Mr Sharon had reportedly sought specific support from the US for the annexation of some of the larger settlements - something the administration was not prepared to provide. Similarly, the prime minister is said to have requested a written guarantee from the US that Israel would not be obliged to absorb any Palestinian refugees under a permanent accord. Again, the US stopped short of that, but it is apparently ready to state that Palestinian refugees will be able to make their homes in a new and independent sovereign Palestine.
Two years after the Passover festival saw 30 Israelis killed in a Netanya hotel, Israeli security forces said they had foiled plans for another major suicide bombings this Passover; the festival begins on Monday night.
Military sources said 12 Palestinians arrested after a shoot-out in Bethlehem hospital were responsible for several previous attacks and were planning another one, inside Israel, next week.