Posted on 05/24/2006 1:17:43 AM PDT by monkapotamus
Bush backs Olmert on pullout plan
Leaders express a shared vision on peace process
By Bryan Bender, Globe Staff | May 24, 2006
WASHINGTON -- President Bush and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of Israel said yesterday that talks between Israel and the Palestinians remain the best hope for Middle East peace. But Bush gave conditional support to Olmert's plan to pursue a unilateral separation from the Palestinians if the Hamas-dominated government is unwilling to negotiate a peace agreement.
Bush, after his first meeting with Olmert since the Israeli election in March, urged Hamas to embrace negotiations for a final settlement to establish a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The United States and its European allies, which consider Hamas a terrorist group, have isolated the movement since its election in January and cut off all but humanitarian aid even while maintaining ties with moderate Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas.
(Excerpt) Read more at boston.com ...
Blow for Israel as US refuses to back West Bank withdrawal plan
The Daily Telegraph | May 24, 2006 | Francis Harris and Tim Butcher
Washington told Ehud Olmert, the new Israeli prime minister, yesterday to set aside plans for unilateral withdrawal from the occupied territories and open talks with the moderate Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1637333/posts
What a world we live in when this guy is considered moderate. Kinda clears up a lot about the media, tho, eh?
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Needless to say the press has it figured out.
Pres. Bush and PM Olmert at White House [Bush: Israel can withdraw but can't set final borders]
Blow for Israel as US refuses to back West Bank withdrawal plan
Bush backs Olmert on pullout plan
Okay, so if Olmert's plan is carried to fruition, what will that leave for a Palestinian state? Will it be all of Gaza and a separate piece of the West Bank, with the two pieces not connected? That will never fly with the Palestinians, they demand a "contiguous" state that cuts Israel in half. Well actually they demand all of it.
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