15 April 2004

by Anai Rhoads

AnaiRhoads.org - A coalition consisting of over nineteen Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant offices called the Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP), reacted negatively Thursday over President Bush's endorsement of Sharon's plans to hold onto the West Bank.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon made an post-Easter visit to the U.S. to seek official endorsement from Bush for Israel's plans to leave the Gaza Strip but keep four West Bank settlements. Sharon's ideas were greeted with great optimism by Bush, but they didn't sit well with others.

The open acceptance for Israel's Jewish settlements in the West Bank by Bush is seen by some as a way to push Palestinian refugees further out and away from their homes. This contrivance will leave Palestinians with no way to resettle.

"We had hoped that the Gaza withdrawal could be a first forward step toward peace," Corinne Whitlatch, executive director of the coalition, stated. "Instead, President Bush has betrayed decades of diplomatic advances, undercut the future of the Road Map peace plan and ignored its co-sponsors, the U.N., the European Union (EU) and the Russian Federation. His repeated assurance that he wants a viable Palestinian state alongside a secure Israel is losing credibility. The President's blatant disregard for Palestinian and Arab participation and sentiment places a future peace and our own security as risk."

In one meeting between the two leaders, decisions were made that seemingly reversed thirty-five years of U.S. policy for peace in that region.

"The President's decision," said Father Drew Christiansen, S.J., a member of CMEP's Leadership Council and an editor of the Jesuit magazine America, "makes U.S. policy hostage to Prime Minister Sharon's expansionist goals. Legitimating West Bank settlements is a recipe for protracted conflict which will continue to impact adversely the dwindling Christian presence in the Holy Land."

"President Bush responded yesterday to a reporter that 'the best way to achieve peace is to fight terror.' I disagree. The way toward peace is to work for a just resolution of the conflict between Israel and Palestine. That will lead to the end of the terror of suicide bombers and targeted assassinations," stated Jim Winkler, general secretary of the United Methodist Church General Board of Church and Society.

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