It's being called a "historic declaration," but many Israelis don't quite see what's so historic about it. President Bush's letter to Prime Minister Sharon last night made the following points:
* Commitment to a "viable, contiguous, sovereign" Palestinian state.
* Israel's responsibilities: "The barrier being erected by Israel should be a security rather than political barrier, should be temporary rather than permanent, should not prejudice any final status issues including final borders, and should take into account, consistent with security needs, its impact on Palestinians not engaged in terrorist activities."
* The Road Map is still the plan of choice, under which the Palestinians must stop terrorism and incitement.
* Israel will continue to control airspace, territorial waters, and land passages in Gaza, "pending agreements on other arrangements."
* "It seems clear that an agreed, just, fair, and realistic framework for a solution to the Palestinian refugee issue as part of any final status agreement will need to be found through the establishment of a Palestinian state, and the settling of Palestinian refugees there, rather than in Israel."
* "In light of new realities on the ground, including already existing major Israeli populations centers, it is unrealistic to expect that the outcome of final status negotiations will be a full and complete return to the armistice lines of 1949..."
The latter two points were particularly emphasized in initial Israeli media reports as marking "historic departures" from previous U.S. positions. Many commentators and politicians disagreed, however, as detailed below.
The bottom line of the latest Sharon-Bush understanding is that Israel is to withdraw in the coming months from all of Gaza and expel its 8,000 residents - three generations' worth - in exchange for Presidential "commitments" and verbiage for the far-off future: the Arabs "must" stop terror and incitement; final borders "should" take into account Israeli population centers; Arab refugees "need not" enter Israel - and primarily, that the process must continue towards a "viable and contiguous" Palestinian state.
National Religious Party leader Effie Eitam said, "All the word-plays and intentions that we heard in Washington do not provide an answer to the security dangers and to the unbearable economic price of this plan. The expulsion of thousands of Jews from their homes will create a national trauma."
Bush praised Sharon, saying that he had taken "courageous and historic actions," and that the Israeli public "appreciates Sharon's leadership." It had widely been predicted that Bush would heap praise upon Sharon in order to prop up his domestic standing and increase his standing among the Likud members. The nearly 200,000 Likud party members are to vote on the unilateral withdrawal plan 17 days from now.
President Bush did not come near meeting Sharon's request for recognition for six settlement blocs such as Gush Etzion. The US President said that Israel's retention of certain communities must be negotiated in the final-status agreement with the Palestinian Authority.
It was also noted that Bush had not promised any economic help in relocating the 8,000 Jews and their property and businesses. Nor did the American leader agree to Israel's proposed route of the counter-terrorism partition fence.
It must also be emphasized that several Israeli obligations were not publicly mentioned, but are rather itemized in a separate letter by Sharon's top aide Dov Weisglass. These include: limits on construction in Judea and Samaria, the dismantling of outposts, lifting security checkpoints, and the unfreezing of money for the Palestinian Authority.
* Commitment to a "viable, contiguous, sovereign" Palestinian state.
* Israel's responsibilities: "The barrier being erected by Israel should be a security rather than political barrier, should be temporary rather than permanent, should not prejudice any final status issues including final borders, and should take into account, consistent with security needs, its impact on Palestinians not engaged in terrorist activities."
* The Road Map is still the plan of choice, under which the Palestinians must stop terrorism and incitement.
* Israel will continue to control airspace, territorial waters, and land passages in Gaza, "pending agreements on other arrangements."
* "It seems clear that an agreed, just, fair, and realistic framework for a solution to the Palestinian refugee issue as part of any final status agreement will need to be found through the establishment of a Palestinian state, and the settling of Palestinian refugees there, rather than in Israel."
* "In light of new realities on the ground, including already existing major Israeli populations centers, it is unrealistic to expect that the outcome of final status negotiations will be a full and complete return to the armistice lines of 1949..."
The latter two points were particularly emphasized in initial Israeli media reports as marking "historic departures" from previous U.S. positions. Many commentators and politicians disagreed, however, as detailed below.
The bottom line of the latest Sharon-Bush understanding is that Israel is to withdraw in the coming months from all of Gaza and expel its 8,000 residents - three generations' worth - in exchange for Presidential "commitments" and verbiage for the far-off future: the Arabs "must" stop terror and incitement; final borders "should" take into account Israeli population centers; Arab refugees "need not" enter Israel - and primarily, that the process must continue towards a "viable and contiguous" Palestinian state.
National Religious Party leader Effie Eitam said, "All the word-plays and intentions that we heard in Washington do not provide an answer to the security dangers and to the unbearable economic price of this plan. The expulsion of thousands of Jews from their homes will create a national trauma."
Bush praised Sharon, saying that he had taken "courageous and historic actions," and that the Israeli public "appreciates Sharon's leadership." It had widely been predicted that Bush would heap praise upon Sharon in order to prop up his domestic standing and increase his standing among the Likud members. The nearly 200,000 Likud party members are to vote on the unilateral withdrawal plan 17 days from now.
President Bush did not come near meeting Sharon's request for recognition for six settlement blocs such as Gush Etzion. The US President said that Israel's retention of certain communities must be negotiated in the final-status agreement with the Palestinian Authority.
It was also noted that Bush had not promised any economic help in relocating the 8,000 Jews and their property and businesses. Nor did the American leader agree to Israel's proposed route of the counter-terrorism partition fence.
It must also be emphasized that several Israeli obligations were not publicly mentioned, but are rather itemized in a separate letter by Sharon's top aide Dov Weisglass. These include: limits on construction in Judea and Samaria, the dismantling of outposts, lifting security checkpoints, and the unfreezing of money for the Palestinian Authority.