Medium-level contacts between Israeli and US officials - and not the summit with President Bush that Prime Minister Sharon was hoping for - continue, with Sharon's withdrawal plan the main topic of discussion.
Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom is meeting today in Jerusalem with Bush Administration emissaries to discuss the plan. The Bush Administration continues to display a rather cold shoulder to the entire idea, and has not responded to Israeli entreaties to invite Ariel Sharon to Washington. Atty. Dov Weisglass, who heads Sharon's Office, has received much of the blame for not succeeding in arranging such a meeting - but political commentators say that Bush has his own reasons for not wanting to invite Sharon, and that most of them have to do with the upcoming American elections.
"There are too many question marks about the plan that Sharon wants to present to him," correspondent Haggai Huberman said today. "Bush doesn't want to take any chances by inviting Sharon at this stage."
Arutz-7's Yedidya Atlas goes even further, calling Sharon an "albatross around Bush's neck" before an election that will depend heavily on key voter blocs that are unhappy with Sharon's policies. Specifically, Atlas writes, the Evangelical Christians in the south and Orthodox Jews in Florida and New York are "hardcore supporters of Israel [who] oppose any Israeli territorial concessions in general, and particularly so while Israel is under fire from an aggressive and brutal terrorist enemy."
Deputy Education Minister Tzvi Hendel, who coined the phrase, "the depth of the withdrawal is proportionate to the depth of the investigation [against Sharon]," continues to insist that Sharon's disengagement plan is only a cover for the Greek Island and Cyril Kern scandals currently embroiling Sharon. Yaakov (Ketzaleh) Katz, who served in 1990-92 as top aide to then-Housing Minister Ariel Sharon, says it's clear that Sharon is doing everything he can to deflect attention from his personal problems:
"Even the Tenenbaum issue - why did he spend so many hours convincing his ministers to vote for what was so clearly a lopsided deal against Israel? It was only to distract the public's attention from his personal-legal problems. And the same is true with this withdrawal plan. Bush's aides see this, and advise their boss not to get involved in this 'mess' and not to invite Sharon."
In addition, Israelis' confidence in Sharon is on the downswing; a Maariv-Dahaf poll taken last week shows that 53% of the public feels that "in light of the affairs tied to the Prime Minister and his family," he should resign - while a similar proportion said in a previous poll that Sharon was "involved in the corruption." "Why should Bush take chances?" some commentators ask.
Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom is meeting today in Jerusalem with Bush Administration emissaries to discuss the plan. The Bush Administration continues to display a rather cold shoulder to the entire idea, and has not responded to Israeli entreaties to invite Ariel Sharon to Washington. Atty. Dov Weisglass, who heads Sharon's Office, has received much of the blame for not succeeding in arranging such a meeting - but political commentators say that Bush has his own reasons for not wanting to invite Sharon, and that most of them have to do with the upcoming American elections.
"There are too many question marks about the plan that Sharon wants to present to him," correspondent Haggai Huberman said today. "Bush doesn't want to take any chances by inviting Sharon at this stage."
Arutz-7's Yedidya Atlas goes even further, calling Sharon an "albatross around Bush's neck" before an election that will depend heavily on key voter blocs that are unhappy with Sharon's policies. Specifically, Atlas writes, the Evangelical Christians in the south and Orthodox Jews in Florida and New York are "hardcore supporters of Israel [who] oppose any Israeli territorial concessions in general, and particularly so while Israel is under fire from an aggressive and brutal terrorist enemy."
Deputy Education Minister Tzvi Hendel, who coined the phrase, "the depth of the withdrawal is proportionate to the depth of the investigation [against Sharon]," continues to insist that Sharon's disengagement plan is only a cover for the Greek Island and Cyril Kern scandals currently embroiling Sharon. Yaakov (Ketzaleh) Katz, who served in 1990-92 as top aide to then-Housing Minister Ariel Sharon, says it's clear that Sharon is doing everything he can to deflect attention from his personal problems:
"Even the Tenenbaum issue - why did he spend so many hours convincing his ministers to vote for what was so clearly a lopsided deal against Israel? It was only to distract the public's attention from his personal-legal problems. And the same is true with this withdrawal plan. Bush's aides see this, and advise their boss not to get involved in this 'mess' and not to invite Sharon."
In addition, Israelis' confidence in Sharon is on the downswing; a Maariv-Dahaf poll taken last week shows that 53% of the public feels that "in light of the affairs tied to the Prime Minister and his family," he should resign - while a similar proportion said in a previous poll that Sharon was "involved in the corruption." "Why should Bush take chances?" some commentators ask.