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TITLE: U.S. Opposes Any Settlement Growth |
AUTHOR: Aluf Benn |
PUB: Ha'aretz |
DATE: February 27, 2001 |
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The United States opposes any expansion of the settlements - including Jewish neighborhoods of East Jerusalem - U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell told Prime Minister-elect Ariel Sharon on Sunday, according to an American source. Powell chose to make this message a "gentle reminder" of American policy, said the source, and therefore delivered it during a private meeting with Sharon, rather than in public. Sharon, however, indicated that he did not accept this demand, said the source. When Powell asked Sharon later, in a broader forum, about his settlement policy, Sharon replied that no new settlements would be built, "but there is a natural expansion of the population, just as there is among the Arab population of Nazareth." During their private meeting, Sharon also asked that Israel and the U.S. coordinate policy to "prevent mutual surprises." Yesterday, members of Powell's entourage were sharply critical of the press statement released by Sharon's office Sunday evening, following Powell's telephone call to Sharon upon the conclusion of his meeting with Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat. According to this statement, Powell said he had informed Arafat of the steps the Palestinian leader "needs to take in order for Israel to be able to ease [economic restrictions on the PA]," and had conveyed three specific demands from Sharon. "This statement was formulated with the arrogance typical of Likud governments," the American source charged. "It implies that the secretary of state is an emissary of Sharon, who tells him what to say to Arafat. If the statement had said that Powell 'was asked' to convey a message, it wouldn't have aroused opposition." Sharon's office said in response that the statement did not portray Powell as an emissary; it merely reported what he had told Sharon. END |