Bush asks Sharon not to expand settlement on West Bank

CRAWFORD, Texas — President Bush, concerned about the progress of negotiations toward peace in the Middle East, asked Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon both publicly and privately Monday not to expand a key Jewish settlement in the West Bank.

"I told the prime minister not to undertake any activity that contravenes the road map or prejudices final status obligations," Bush told reporters after the two met at the president's Texas ranch.

Bush said he reiterated to Sharon the immediate demands of the internationally negotiated road map for peace between Israel and the Palestinians: that Israel remove any unauthorized outposts in the Palestinian territories and "meet its road map obligations regarding settlements in the West Bank."

The United States has objected to an Israeli plan to add 3,650 homes to the West Bank's largest settlement, Maaleh Adumim. The plan would cut off Arab neighborhoods in Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank.

Israel insists it has the right to continue expanding these settlements. The United States opposes any further construction there, saying it threatens peace with the Palestinians and violates the internationally backed "road map" peace plan that calls for a settlement freeze.

Sharon agreed.

"Regarding the unauthorized outposts, I wish to reiterate that Israel is a society governed by the rule of law," he said. "As such, I will fulfill my commitment to you, Mr. President, to remove unauthorized outposts. As to settlements, Israel will meet all its obligations under the road map."

The expansion issue overshadowed a meeting between Sharon and Bush that was originally designed to give Sharon support for a controversial plan to dismantle all 21 Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip and four in the northern West Bank.

The action scheduled for July and August would remove about 9,000 Israelis from their homes. Sharon said the plan, for which he is under fire at home, has generated a tense atmosphere in Israel.

Referring to the mood in Israel, Sharon said in an interview with NBC News, "The tension here, the atmosphere here looks like the eve of the civil war. All my life I was defending life of Jews. Now for the first time, steps I'm taking to protect me from Jews."

"Yasser Arafat was first of all a murderer and he was someone with whom there was no chance whatsoever to reach peace," Sharon said. "I believe that at the current time, maybe for the first time, there is a possibility to try and solve the problem."