The White House has not yet given the green line for Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's planned visit to Washington in a few weeks. Sharon is due to discuss understandings for removing Jewish settlements with the Bush administration. One of the understandings Sharon hopes to achieve is an administration willingness to discuss US and international aid for compensating settlers.
A pro-Jewish source in Washington told "Globes" that friends of Israel on Capitol Hill believe that Israel is approaching the moment of truth, and Israeli supporters must prepare for a situation in which Jerusalem will ask Washington for financial aid to compensate evacuated settlers.
The source added that many analysts in Washington have long believed that Israel's request for aid was only a matter of time, and Sharon's recent comments, including the statement about evacuating the settlements in Gaza Strip, reinforced the analysts' assessments.
The source said that friends of Israel believe that Sharon will present his unilateral Israeli disengagement plan, beginning with the evacuation of the settlements in the Gaza Strip to President George W. Bush on his upcoming visit. Sharon will emphasize that Israel cannot meet the financial burden of compensating the settlers alone. Sharon is not expected to submit a detailed request, but will ask for the administration's agreement in principle to hold bilateral negotiations on the subject.
A senior Israeli diplomat in Washington said in response last night, "We're hearing this for the first time. The Embassy has no knowledge about this." He added that if Sharon is expected to try to reach an understanding with the Bush administration about the "diplomatic process" in the traditional spirit of cooperation between the two countries.
Published by Globes [online] - www.globes.co.il - on February 3, 2004