International

Israel must complete withdrawal: U.S.

By Sridhar Krishnaswami

WASHINGTON APRIL 26 . The U.S. President, George W. Bush, has called for a complete Israeli withdrawal from the Palestinian areas. As balance, he has also called on the Palestinians to "do more" to stop terror.

"Israel must finish its withdrawal, including resolution of standoffs in Ramallah and Bethlehem, in a non-violent way," Mr. Bush told reporters after talks with the visiting Saudi Arabian Crown Prince, Abdullah. The President met the de facto ruler at his Crawford, Texas ranch against a backdrop of increasing Arab frustration over America's continued support for Israel, in spite of the latter's military crackdown in Palestinian cities and the virtual house arrest of the Palestinian Authority leader, Yasser Arafat.

Mr. Bush has termed his meeting with Crown Prince Abdullah as "very cordial", which confirmed, among other things, a strong bilateral relationship. But an unnamed administration official has been quoted as saying that the Saudi leader did raise concerns about the direction of Washington's ties with the Arab world in the context of the recent Israeli violence.

There had been speculation that Saudi Arabia is so outraged at the direction of American foreign policy that it could consider backing an Iraqi-led oil embargo; even mere conjecture along these lines had an impact on energy markets. But Mr. Bush allayed such fears, saying, "Saudi Arabia has made it clear...that they will not use oil as a weapon and I appreciate that". An administration official has said that the Crown Prince has given assurances to Mr. Bush; officials from Saudi Arabia have dismissed reports of any backing to the Iraqi embargo. "Oil is not a weapon. Oil is not a tank. You cannot fire oil," said the Saudi foreign policy advisor, Adel al-Jubeir.

Some analysts are saying that the tone of the Crawford meeting could suggest that the two sides have not been entirely successful in coming to terms with disagreements of the recent past. This is particularly true with respect to the Israeli occupation and Mr. Bush's subsequent response on Thursday. Some maintain that the concerns of Saudi Arabia vis-à-vis the implications of Israeli actions have not been fully addressed at the summit.

According to a Saudi Arabian official, if the Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, is left to himself, "he will drag the region over a cliff".

For his part, Mr. Bush is said to have impressed upon the Crown Prince the need for Arab leaders to restrain from inciting anti-Israeli violence and also to accept the Jewish state as a nation and a neighbour. Mr. Bush's administration has been upset over a Saudi telethon for relatives of suicide bombers; Washington does not see suicide bombers as "martyrs", but as terrorists. According to one U.S. official, the Saudis have given assurance that the money collected was for humanitarian purposes and was being disbursed through non-governmental organisations.

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