Ariel Sharon was in Washington DC on a private visit while Mahmoud Abbas was received by President Bush. Ariel Sharon's intended visit was to seek Jews' support for his plan on withdrawal of settlers from Gaza strip. Ariel Sharon declared at the conference of American-Israeli Public Affairs Committee in Washington DC two days before the arrival of Mahmoud Abbas that President Bush assured there was no possibility of entering Palestinian refugees into Israel and that major settlements of Israelis would remain part of Israel in any peace deal. This clearly shows the stand taken by President Bush in connivance with Israeli Prime Minister. American-Israeli Public

Affairs Committee is one of the powerful lobbies in the United States for Israel.

The gesture of President Bush towards Abbas is contrary to the treatment meted out to deceased Yassir Arafat, who was never received by President Bush. Instead, President Bush reiterated what Ariel Sharon had to say about Yassir Arafat that he was an obstructionist to peace process. President Bush went even to the extent of making an appeal to Palestinians to dump Yassir Arafat. President Bush at the press conference declared his pledge of fifty million dollars to improve the quality of lives of Palestinians in Gaza strip following the withdrawal of Jewish settlers. This announcement came after

the meeting with Mahmoud Abbas at the White House. The pledge of the financial assistance appears to be the deviation from the commitments that he made. President Bush pledged $ 350 million dollars for democratisation and improving the infrastructures and the lives of Palestinians. But Congress approved $ 200 million only for the Palestinian cause.

However, this is for the first time US administration is handing over the aid directly to PLO authority. In the past such assistance was channeled through non-government organisations. The meagre amount of aid assurance can be seen in the context of a series of vilification campaign advertisements in the press by the Jew community in the United States against offering financial assistance to 'corrupt' Palestinian authority. These advertisements also spoke against the President elect of the Palestinian authority Mahmoud Abbas. In an editorial the Washington Times of May 26, 2005, the day Mahmoud Abbas met with President Bush, even cautioned President Bush to remind Mr. Abbas that he would be making a grave mistake if he emulated Mr Arafat.

President Bush in his comments at the press conference urged upon the Palestinian Authority to reform the security services, stop corruption, reform justice system and revive economy of the Palestinians while he made an appeal to Israeli authorities to stop settlement expansion in the occupied territories; demolish unauthorised outposts. He said that Israel should not act the way that contravenes road map obligations. He urged upon the Israeli authorities to return to the position that Israel held on September 28, 2000 and added that the state of scattered territory would not work for an independent Palestinian State. The President also warned Israel not to undertake such activity which would prejudice final status negotiations with regard to Gaza, West Bank and Jerusalem. President Bush further said that any changes to the armistice lines of 1949 must be mutually agreed to. These are the only points in his comments that deserve attention. The coining of words like Jerusalem and armistice lines of 1949 carries far and wide implication. According to the Washington Post of May 27, in the diplomacy of the Middle East where every word carries meaning, both Israelis and Palestinians were struck by two new formulations offered by Bush.

As of now President Bush ignored the Israeli policy of blatant human rights violations which Israel military occupation has carried against the Palestinians. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas expected some kind of written assurance from Bush administration for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state to demonstrate to his people the genuineness of the desire of Bush administration towards peaceful resolution of the conflict, but he failed to have that kind of assurances.

In an interview Palestinian Foreign Minister Dr. Nasser Al-Kidwa said that Mahmoud Abbas was assured by President Bush that his vision was to establish a viable and integrated Palestine State and any changes in the borders of the Hudna (truce) in 1949 should be applied according to Palestinian-Israeli agreement.

Bush administration is so obsessed with strong Jewish lobby in Washington that it is simply impossible for the administration to put pressure on the leadership in Israel, although some liberal leaning commentators in the United States hold the opinion that welcoming Palestinian leader at the White House and offering him money despite objections, including from the Congress, it signals positive attitude towards resolving Middle East problem. Another commentator is of the view that President Bush counts on Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas for establishing democracy in the Palestinian held territory, which will be followed by other Arab countries. That will fulfil President Bush's clarion call for 'establishing democracy around the world', which becomes the cornerstone of his second term foreign policy. Apparently ignoring the opinion of the Jews about Mahmoud Abbas, President Bush endorsed his leadership of the Palestinians. It is hoped that Bush administration would continue to keep up pressure on both Israel and Palestinian Authority to establish a viable and integrated independent Palestine state.

Mohammad Amjad Hossain, a former diplomat, resides in Virginia, USA