Prime Minister Ariel Sharon will meet with U.S. President George Bush this evening. Bush is expected to pressure Sharon to begin implementing the Mitchell Report even before the ceasefire takes effect. Sources in the U.S. report that Bush will demand a unilateral announcement of an Israeli settlement freeze in Judea and Samaria.
Sharon emphasized again last night that he will not conduct negotiations with the PA \"under fire\", and that he has made this clear to President Bush. American Jewish grassroots organizations are protesting the Bush-Powell pressure on Israel despite the continuation of Palestinian violence; one group writes that this policy \"combines the worst aspects of appeasement and cowardice, and is a prescription for more bloodshed.\"
Sharon emphasized again last night that he will not conduct negotiations with the PA \"under fire\", and that he has made this clear to President Bush. American Jewish grassroots organizations are protesting the Bush-Powell pressure on Israel despite the continuation of Palestinian violence; one group writes that this policy \"combines the worst aspects of appeasement and cowardice, and is a prescription for more bloodshed.\"