Posted on 04/10/2005 1:42:23 PM PDT by Valin
ANDREWS AIR FORCE BASE, Md. (Reuters) - Israeli leader Ariel Sharon flew on Sunday to President Bush's Texas ranch and criticized a barrage of Palestinian mortar fire at Jewish settlements in Gaza as a "flagrant violation" of a truce deal.
Sharon landed outside Washington to refuel before continuing on to Texas amid the worst outbreak of violence in Gaza since he and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called a cease-fire at a Feb. 8 summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.
The Israeli army said more than 70 mortars and rockets had been fired at Jewish settlements in Gaza since Saturday, after Israeli soldiers killed three Palestinian youths in the coastal strip. None of the Palestinian fire caused any casualties.
A senior aide quoted Sharon as saying: "The firing was a flagrant violation of the understanding achieved at Sharm el-Sheikh and it will be a central issue to be raised in my talks with President Bush."
The trip was the prime minister's 10th to the United States since taking office in 2001 but his first taste of homestead hospitality Bush reserves for his most favored foreign guests. Sharon also owns a ranch, near the Gaza Strip.
Israeli officials said they expected Bush to reaffirm at the meeting on Monday his strong backing for the Gaza withdrawal slated for July, the first removal of Jewish settlements from occupied land Palestinians want for a state.
Clearing political hurdles to the pullout at home, Sharon frequently cited Bush's assurances during his previous U.S. trip last April that Israel would not be expected to give up some large West Bank settlement blocs in future peace deals.
But Sharon went a step too far for Washington by pledging last week to press ahead with construction of 3,500 homes for Israelis in a narrow corridor between the West Bank settlement of Maale Adumim and Jerusalem.
Palestinians fear the Maale Adumim project would largely cut off the West Bank, which would form the bulk of a future state, from the eastern Arab part of Jerusalem, which they want as its capital -- a demand Israel rejects.
BUSH TO RAISE SETTLEMENT EXPANSION
Asked if he would raise the issue of settlement expansion during their talks, Bush said on Friday: "You bet." What I say publicly, I say privately," Bush told reporters. "And that is the road map has clear obligations on settlements, and that we expect the prime minister to adhere to those road map obligations." Bush was referring to the Middle East peace plan he has backed that calls for a freeze of Israeli "settlement activity" as part of mutual steps with the Palestinians leading to the creation of a Palestinian state alongside a secure Israel.
Despite U.S. misgivings about the Maale Adumim project, Bush stopped short of criticizing it directly and praised Sharon.
"The prime minister of Israel has decided to pull out of Gaza," he said. "I applauded that decision at the White House, with him standing by my side. And I think now is the time to focus the world's attention on what is possible."
The meeting will give the two leaders an opportunity to talk face-to-face for the first time about prospects for peace since the death in November of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and his replacement by the moderate Abbas.
Sharon has demanded stronger action by the Palestinian president to disarm militants, another road map requirement.
He also cited Iran's suspected nuclear arms program and events in Lebanon as subjects for discussion with Bush.
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