A fence separating Israel from the West Bank is ”racist” and a symbol of the lack of coexistence between Israel and the Palestinians, the Palestinian prime minister said on Wednesday, a day after US President George Bush backed off from overt criticism of the security barrier.
Mahmoud Abbas told Jordan’s King Abdullah II that the fence ”has little value from a security point of view and the Palestinians reject it because it is being built on their lands,” the official Petra news agency said.
”The fence is racist,” Abbas said. ”It represents a title for no coexistence” between Israel and the Palestinians.
Petra said Abbas briefed Abdullah on his White House talks with Bush last Friday, four days before the US president met with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in a bid to jump-start Mideast peacemaking.
After his meeting with Abbas, Bush had described the security barrier as ”a problem”. But at a White House press conference Tuesday, Bush did not press Sharon to stop building the security barrier or to release thousands of Palestinian prisoners — another key Palestinian demand.
Sharon said the fence would continue to be built ”with every effort to minimise the infringement on the daily life of the Palestinian population”.
Petra quoted Abbas as saying he ”felt there was big understanding” to the issues he discussed with Bush and other administration officials, especially Palestinian prisoners, Jewish settlements and the security fence. He did not elaborate.
Abdullah vowed that Jordan, a longtime US ally, would ”continue its contacts with administration officials to bolster Abbas”s efforts”, Petra said.
Jordanian officials said Abdullah was expected to meet with Bush in the next few weeks, but that no date has yet been set for the meeting.
The king urged Israel to cease settlement construction and free more Palestinian prisoners in line with its commitment under the roadmap, a USbacked peace plan which calls for an end to violence and the creation of a Palestinian state by 2005. – Sapa-AP