 Israeli media sources reported on Monday that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is expected to tell Bush that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s regime is on verge of collapsing, proposing to start preparing for the post-Abbas era.
Sharon to focus on “Abbas’s failureâ€Â
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon will be telling U.S. President George W. Bush that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is losing control to armed Palestinian organizations.
Sharon arrived in Waco, Texas on Monday. He will travel to Bush’s ranch 25 miles (40 km) away in Crawford on Monday morning.
Upon arrival, Sharon held an hour long meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice over dinner in his hotel in Texas to finalize preparations for Sharon’s meeting with Bush later in the day.ÂÂ
While Sharon will be focusing on “Abbas’ failuresâ€Â, the American agenda places a high priority on Israel increasing security cooperation with the Palestinians and on latest plans to expand West Bank settlements.
The Bush-Sharon meeting will begin at 9:30 Monday morning, Crawford time. So far, no date has been formally scheduled for a Bush-Abbas meeting.
Sharon told reporters on Monday that he viewed the attack on Gaza settlements as a ‘blatant violation’ of the agreements established at the Sharm el Sheikh summit.
Sharon’s trip followed a tense weekend in Israel. In addition to the killing of three Palestinian children in Gaza by Israeli soldiers, and the shillings of Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip that followed, Extreme right wing attempt to break into Haram Al-Sharif flared up tension in Jerusalem.
From Texas, Sharon will head back to Israel via Washington, where he is slated to meet with administration officials, congressional leaders, American Jewish community leaders and the press. He is due back in Israel on Thursday.
Israeli media sources reported Monday that Sharon would tell Bush that due to “Abbas’s failureâ€Â, Israel might be forced to move to curb Palestinian militant groups.
