A. B. Yehoshua
Photo: Gil Yohanan
Olmert greets Bush at Ben-Gurion Airport
Photo: AFP
A.B. Yehoshua: Bush should recall ambassador until outposts dismantled
Israeli novelist says Israel deceiving international community into focusing solely on illegal outposts, thus legitimizing settlement enterprise
In a scathing op-ed published in the Italian daily La Stampa, Israeli novelist A. B. Yehoshua said George W. Bush should recall the US ambassador to Israel until the Jewish state dismantles all illegal outposts in the West Bank, Yedioth Ahronoth reported Sunday.
Peace Process
Week before embarking on historic visit to region, US president voices concern that Israel's ongoing expansion of settlements in the West Bank hinders peace efforts with PA, urges immediate evacuation of illegal outposts. White House: No Abbas-Olmert-Bush meeting scheduled
"If the American president would have really wanted Israel to disassemble the illegal outposts, he would have done better to stay in the White House and tend to his citizens' medical insurance," Yehoshua wrote in response to Bush's recent visit to the Middle East. "He should have recalled his ambassador to Tel Aviv (Richard Jones) for an indefinite period until the outposts were evacuated.
"I can guarantee you that had he acted in this manner, Israel would have promptly dismantled the outposts, and the US administration would thus cement the faith of the Israelis and the Palestinians in the peace process," he said in the op-ed.
Yehoshua added that Israel was deceiving the international community into focusing solely on the illegal outposts.
"Instead of dealing with (all) of the illegal settlements (in the West Bank), only the illegal outposts are being discussed – this legitimizes the status of (the other) settlements, in which 250,000 Israelis reside," he said.
