The Weissglass Letter
Settlement Report | Vol. 14 No. 3 | May-June 2004- Israel's Policy of "Creating Facts" Wins over the Bush Administration
- To Our Readers
- Settlements in the Evacuation Mix
- Bush Letter to Sharon Recognizes "Facts on the Ground"
- The Disengagement Plan
- Settlement Timeline
- Letter from Prime Minister Sharon to President Bush
- The Weissglass Letter
- Back Panel Quote
The following is the text of a letter sent by Prime Minister Ariel
Sharon's bureau chief, Dov Weissglas, to the U.S. National Security
Adviser Condoleezza Rice laying out the understandings reached between
Sharon and U.S. President George W. Bush during their meeting at the
White House on April 14, 2004.
Dear Dr. Rice,
On behalf of the Prime Minister of the State of Israel, Mr. Ariel Sharon, I wish to reconfirm the following understanding, which had been reached between us:
1. Restrictions on settlement growth: within the agreed principles of settlement activities, an effort will be made in the next few days to have a better definition of the construction line of settlements in Judea and Samaria [the West Bank]. An Israeli team, in conjunction with Ambassador Kurtzer, will review aerial photos of settlements and will jointly define the construction line of each of the settlements.
2. Removal of unauthorized outposts: the Prime Minister and the Minister of defense, jointly, will prepare a list of unauthorized outposts with indicative dates of their removal; the Israeli Defense forces and/or the Israeli Police will take continuous action to remove those outposts in the targeted dates. The said list will be presented to Ambassador Kurtzer within 30 days.
5. The Government of Israel extends to the Government of the United States the following assurances:
a. The Israeli government remains committed to the two-state solution--Israel and Palestine living side by side in peace and security--as the key to peace in the Middle East.
b. The Israeli government remains committed to the Roadmap as the only route to achieving the two-state solution. c. The Israeli government believes that its disengagement plan and related steps on the West Bank concerning settlement growth, unauthorized outposts, and easing of restrictions on the movement of Palestinians not engaged in terror are consistent with the Roadmap and, in many cases, are steps actually called for in certain phases of the Roadmap.
d. The Israeli government believes that further steps by it, even if consistent with the Roadmap, cannot be taken absent the emergence of a Palestinian partner committed to peace, democratic reform, and the fight against terror.
e. Once such a Palestinian partner emerges, the Israeli government will perform its obligations, as called for in the Roadmap, as part of the performance-based plan set out in the Roadmap for reaching a negotiated final status agreement.
f. The Israeli government remains committed to the negotiation between the parties of a final status resolution of all outstanding issues.
h. As the Government of Israel has stated, the barrier being erected by Israel should be a security rather than a political barrier, should be temporary rather than permanent, and therefore not prejudice any final status issues including final borders, and its route should take into account, consistent with security needs, its impact on Palestinians not engaged in terrorist activities.
Dear Dr. Rice,
On behalf of the Prime Minister of the State of Israel, Mr. Ariel Sharon, I wish to reconfirm the following understanding, which had been reached between us:
1. Restrictions on settlement growth: within the agreed principles of settlement activities, an effort will be made in the next few days to have a better definition of the construction line of settlements in Judea and Samaria [the West Bank]. An Israeli team, in conjunction with Ambassador Kurtzer, will review aerial photos of settlements and will jointly define the construction line of each of the settlements.
2. Removal of unauthorized outposts: the Prime Minister and the Minister of defense, jointly, will prepare a list of unauthorized outposts with indicative dates of their removal; the Israeli Defense forces and/or the Israeli Police will take continuous action to remove those outposts in the targeted dates. The said list will be presented to Ambassador Kurtzer within 30 days.
5. The Government of Israel extends to the Government of the United States the following assurances:
a. The Israeli government remains committed to the two-state solution--Israel and Palestine living side by side in peace and security--as the key to peace in the Middle East.
b. The Israeli government remains committed to the Roadmap as the only route to achieving the two-state solution. c. The Israeli government believes that its disengagement plan and related steps on the West Bank concerning settlement growth, unauthorized outposts, and easing of restrictions on the movement of Palestinians not engaged in terror are consistent with the Roadmap and, in many cases, are steps actually called for in certain phases of the Roadmap.
d. The Israeli government believes that further steps by it, even if consistent with the Roadmap, cannot be taken absent the emergence of a Palestinian partner committed to peace, democratic reform, and the fight against terror.
e. Once such a Palestinian partner emerges, the Israeli government will perform its obligations, as called for in the Roadmap, as part of the performance-based plan set out in the Roadmap for reaching a negotiated final status agreement.
f. The Israeli government remains committed to the negotiation between the parties of a final status resolution of all outstanding issues.
h. As the Government of Israel has stated, the barrier being erected by Israel should be a security rather than a political barrier, should be temporary rather than permanent, and therefore not prejudice any final status issues including final borders, and its route should take into account, consistent with security needs, its impact on Palestinians not engaged in terrorist activities.
