For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
April 14, 2004
Letter From President Bush to Prime Minister Sharon
His Excellency
Ariel Sharon
Prime Minister of Israel
Dear Mr. Prime Minister:
Thank you for your letter setting out your disengagement plan.
The United States remains hopeful and determined to find a way
forward toward a resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian dispute. I
remain committed to my June 24, 2002 vision of two states living side
by side in peace and security as the key to peace, and to the roadmap
as the route to get there.
We welcome the disengagement plan you have prepared, under which
Israel would withdraw certain military installations and all
settlements from Gaza, and withdraw certain military installations and
settlements in the West Bank. These steps described in the plan will
mark real progress toward realizing my June 24, 2002 vision, and make a
real contribution towards peace. We also understand that, in this
context, Israel believes it is important to bring new opportunities to
the Negev and the Galilee. We are hopeful that steps pursuant to this
plan, consistent with my vision, will remind all states and parties of
their own obligations under the roadmap.
The United States appreciates the risks such an undertaking
represents. I therefore want to reassure you on several points.
First, the United States remains committed to my vision and to its
implementation as described in the roadmap. The United States will do
its utmost to prevent any attempt by anyone to impose any other plan.
Under the roadmap, Palestinians must undertake an immediate cessation
of armed activity and all acts of violence against Israelis anywhere,
and all official Palestinian institutions must end incitement against
Israel. The Palestinian leadership must act decisively against terror,
including sustained, targeted, and effective operations to stop
terrorism and dismantle terrorist capabilities and infrastructure.
Palestinians must undertake a comprehensive and fundamental political
reform that includes a strong parliamentary democracy and an empowered
prime minister.
Second, there will be no security for Israelis or Palestinians
until they and all states, in the region and beyond, join together to
fight terrorism and dismantle terrorist organizations. The United
States reiterates its steadfast commitment to Israel's security,
including secure, defensible borders, and to preserve and strengthen
Israel's capability to deter and defend itself, by itself, against any
threat or possible combination of threats.
Third, Israel will retain its right to defend itself against
terrorism, including to take actions against terrorist organizations.
The United States will lead efforts, working together with Jordan,
Egypt, and others in the international community, to build the capacity
and will of Palestinian institutions to fight terrorism, dismantle
terrorist organizations, and prevent the areas from which Israel has
withdrawn from posing a threat that would have to be addressed by any
other means. The United States understands that after Israel withdraws
from Gaza and/or parts of the West Bank, and pending agreements on
other arrangements, existing arrangements regarding control of
airspace, territorial waters, and land passages of the West Bank and
Gaza will continue. The United States is strongly committed to
Israel's security and well-being as a Jewish state. It seems clear that
an agreed, just, fair, and realistic framework for a solution to the
Palestinian refugee issue as part of any final status agreement will
need to be found through the establishment of a Palestinian state, and
the settling of Palestinian refugees there, rather than in Israel.
As part of a final peace settlement, Israel must have secure and
recognized borders, which should emerge from negotiations between the
parties in accordance with UNSC Resolutions 242 and 338. In light of
new realities on the ground, including already existing major Israeli
populations centers, it is unrealistic to expect that the outcome of
final status negotiations will be a full and complete return to the
armistice lines of 1949, and all previous efforts to negotiate a
two-state solution have reached the same conclusion. It is realistic to
expect that any final status agreement will only be achieved on the
basis of mutually agreed changes that reflect these realities.
I know that, as you state in your letter, you are aware that
certain responsibilities face the State of Israel. Among these, your
government has stated that the barrier being erected by Israel should
be a security rather than political barrier, should be temporary rather
than permanent, and therefore not prejudice any final status issues
including final borders, and its route should take into account,
consistent with security needs, its impact on Palestinians not engaged
in terrorist activities.
As you know, the United States supports the establishment of a
Palestinian state that is viable, contiguous, sovereign, and
independent, so that the Palestinian people can build their own future
in accordance with my vision set forth in June 2002 and with the path
set forth in the roadmap. The United States will join with others in
the international community to foster the development of democratic
political institutions and new leadership committed to those
institutions, the reconstruction of civic institutions, the growth of a
free and prosperous economy, and the building of capable security
institutions dedicated to maintaining law and order and dismantling
terrorist organizations.
A peace settlement negotiated between Israelis and Palestinians
would be a great boon not only to those peoples but to the peoples of
the entire region. Accordingly, the United States believes that all
states in the region have special responsibilities: to support the
building of the institutions of a Palestinian state; to fight
terrorism, and cut off all forms of assistance to individuals and
groups engaged in terrorism; and to begin now to move toward more
normal relations with the State of Israel. These actions would be true
contributions to building peace in the region.
Mr. Prime Minister, you have described a bold and historic
initiative that can make an important contribution to peace. I commend
your efforts and your courageous decision which I support. As a close
friend and ally, the United States intends to work closely with you to
help make it a success.
Sincerely,
George W. Bush
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