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Bush's U-turn on ME fuels fears of violence

Arafat blasts US policy shift

AFP, Paris
Washington's surprise policy shift on the Middle East was criticised yesterday amid fears it would fuel further violence in the volatile region, as the outraged Palestinian leadership called for an emergency meeting of Islamic nations.
US President George W. Bush signalled his administration's unprecedented backing of Israel's plans to hold on to some parts of the West Bank captured in 1967 in a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon Wednesday.
Flouting successive UN resolutions, Bush said it was "unrealistic" to expect Israel to pull out from all land captured in the 1967 war and added Palestinian refugees should not be allowed to return to land lost
to Israel in 1948, when the Jewish state was created.
But his bombshell statements caused outrage among Palestinians and the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, the world's largest grouping of Muslim states, announced an emergency meeting at the request of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.
Arafat said Palestinian refugees forced to leave their homes after the creation of Israel would defend their right to return to their homeland.
"Our destiny is to defend our land, holy sites, Jerusalem and our right to freedom, independence and the right of refugees to return to their homeland," Arafat said.
Bush's comments were also met with skepticism at the United Nations which has passed consecu-
tive resolutions on the Middle East and again urged a negotiated settlement to the Arab-Israeli conflict.
"The Secretary General reiterates his position that final status issues should be determined in negotiations between the parties based on relevant Security Council resolutions," Annan's spokesman said in a statement.
"He strongly believes that they should refrain from taking any steps that would preempt the outcome of such talks."
EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana also insisted on the need for a negotiated accord. "Final status issues can only be resolved by mutual agreement between the parties," he said.
Ireland, which holds the rotating EU presidency, said the European
Union was opposed to any unilateral change to Middle East borders.
Irish Foreign Minister Brian Cowen said in a statement that the established position of the European Union, was that it "will not recognise any change to the pre-1967 borders other than those arrived at by agreement between the parties".
In Italy, the head of the country's center-right opposition, reacted with shock at Washington's policy change.
"This is a clear indication of the inability of the US president to understand the immeasurable damage caused by a unilateral strategy," Francesco Rutelli said.
"This strategy ... could plunge the entire Gulf region into chaos."