Analysis: Sharon beats Abbas in battle for Bush

The clear impression from the White House press conference held by George Bush and Ariel Sharon on Tuesday is that the U.S. president accepted the Israeli prime minister's argument that the primary issue is the dismantling of armed groups by the Palestinian Authority.

In other words, Bush did not accept the argument put forward by Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud (Abu Mazen), at their
meeting last Friday, that he cannot move against groups like Hamas and Islamic Jihad, because this would precipitate a civil war.

This is a clear indication that Bush is not prepared to get into a confrontation with Sharon, and that what is uppermost on his mind now, are electoral concerns. A recent poll showed his approval rating to be at its lowest
since Sept. 11.
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Sharon says barrier will stay despite Bush plea

Ariel Sharon shrugged off President George Bush's request to halt construction on the security fence through the West Bank yesterday, vowing that the work would continue.
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Primordial illogic and primitive cruelty
by Amira Hass

There is nothing more logical than setting arbitrary times of day when a Palestinian is allowed to leave his home and come back to it. There is nothing more logical than forbidding him to leave his field in a pickup truck to take his
crops straight to market. It is logical to forbid him to receive guests, to take a donkey-drawn wagon, to ride a bicycle, to visit his parents a few kilometers away - or to bring a goat into his house "without coordination" so as to provide some fresh milk for his children.
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A striking resemblance to Summer 2000
By Danny Rubinstein

In the meetings Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas and his colleagues had in Washington last week, as in their prior meetings with senior Israeli officials, the same picture emerged. The Palestinians warn that the cease-fire, the hudna, is temporary and very fragile. The statements are highlighted at every Palestinian-Israeli meeting and are published daily in the Palestinian press, which is full of claims that if there is no progress in the process - meaning if the Israeli government and army don't release prisoners, lift checkpoints, freeze settlements and halt the construction of the separation fence - the fire
will be ignited again.
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