Bush weighing 'balancing message' for Jordanian king [after retreat
referendum]
By Aluf Benn, Haaretz Correspondent, and Agencies 28 April 2004
www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/421190.html

The American administration is inclined to present Jordan's King Abdullah
with a "balancing message" to the letter of commitment that President George
W. Bush presented to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon during his Washington visit
two weeks ago. The monarch is due to visit Washington on May 6.

Reports to this effect have reached Jerusalem over the past few days.

Bush is considering giving written assurances to Abdullah that the issues of
settlements and the Palestinian refugees will be decided in negotiations
between the two sides, the Reuters news agency reported.

The Jordanians had requested a letter of this nature in talks with American
officials, but when it met with opposition, they decided that Abdullah would
postpone his visit to the American capital until after Sunday's Likud vote
on Sharon's disengagement plan.

Similar letters have been requested from the Americans by Saudi Arabia and
the Palestinians.

The U.S. has informed Israel it will have to make a "corrective" move toward
its European allies and the Arabs, but that it will under no circumstances
renege on its promises to Sharon.

The Americans are waiting for the Likud referendum so as not to make
statements that will weaken Sharon's position vis a vis his opponents -
those who are against withdrawing from the Gaza Strip and the northern West
Bank.

Jordan would like the Americans to soften their promises to Sharon on the
issues of borders and refugees, which were supposed to be part of the final
status agreement.

Bush in his letter told Sharon that it would not be "practical" to return to
the 1949 cease-fire lines, and that the future border should take into
account the existence of "Israeli population centers" - a euphemism for the
settlement blocs.

Bush also wrote that the Palestinians would be able to settle in the future
Palestinian state, rather than Israel. However, both remarks were qualified
by the statement that any final agreement would have to be acceptable to
both sides.

In an article in The Washington Post earlier this week, former U.S.
ambassador Martin Indyck wrote that Palestinian supporters have requested
that Bush balance his promise to recognize Israeli "population centers" in
the West Bank with a declaration in favor of "territorial compensation" for
the Palestinians.

The American administration is also gearing up for meetings with its Quartet
partners - the UN, European Union and Russia - due to take place at the
ministerial level next Tuesday in New York. The U.S. delayed the meeting
until after the Likud referendum. Officials of the four parties will meet
later this week in London.

The Americans would like to get the Europeans involved in steps aimed at
assisting the plan, rehabilitating the Gaza Strip after the Israeli
withdrawal, and transfering the settlers' properties to the Palestinians in
an orderly fashion.

In order to appease the Europeans, the Americans are expected to announce at
the meeting that they remain firmly behind an agreed final settlement, and
that they are opposed to prejudging its results.

In anticipation of the upcoming quartet meeting, Dov Weisglass, director of
the Prime Minister's Office, flew to Paris and Rome last week, while
National Security Adviser Giora Eiland went to Moscow. They presented
officials there with the background to, and details of, the disengagement
plan.

Weisglass requested that the Europeans lend a hand to help make it succeed,
that they assist the Palestinians with their economy and with the
rehabilitation of Gaza, and that they act as "trustees" in the transfer of
the assets of the settlements.