October 5, 2001
Washington has condemned as "unacceptable" Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's accusation that the US is appeasing Arab states in order to gain support for its war on terrorism.
It was Mr Sharon's toughest criticism yet of the United States, Israel's closest ally, and it followed President George Bush's endorsement earlier in the week of a Palestinian state.
He compared the treatment of Israel with events leading up to World War II, when Britain and France helped Nazi Germany dismember Czechoslovakia.
"Those comments made by the prime minister are unacceptable in the president's opinion," President Bush's spokesman, Ari Fleischer, told reporters.
He added that Mr Sharon had been informed of the US response to his comments through the US embassy in Israel.
Pressure for peace
Washington has pressed Israel to agree to a ceasefire with the Palestinians in the hope that a cooling of the conflict in the Middle East will persuade Arab states to join up with a US-led coalition to battle terrorism.
The truce has however been a failure on the ground. Since it was signed, at least 21 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire and five Israelis have been killed in Palestinian attacks.
On Thursday Mr Sharon annulled an earlier promise to suspend military strikes.
And he issued his blunt warning to the Western world, and particularly the US.
"I call on the Western democracies, and primarily the Free World, the United States, do not repeat the dreadful mistake of 1938 when Europe sacrificed Czechoslovakia. Do not try to appease the Arabs at our expense," he said.
"Israel will not be Czechoslovakia. Israel will fight terrorism."
Just hours after he spoke, Israeli troops moved into two Palestinian neighbourhoods in Hebron, killing five people.
Outrage
Mr Sharon's comments late on Thursday have also sparked criticism at home. Left-wing opposition leader Yossi Sarid called them "groundless, miserable, un-called for and dangerous".
"They are something of a show of ingratitude for America, without which Israel would have a hard time surviving, and they are also a very serious diplomatic error," he was quoted as saying by the French news agency AFP.
On Tuesday, President Bush said that a Palestinian homeland, a key aspect of the conflict in the Middle East, had always been part of the US vision for the region.
"The idea of a Palestinian state has always been a part of a vision, so long as the right of Israel to exist is respected," Mr Bush told reporters after a meeting with congressional leaders.
His comments had followed reports from Washington that, prior to the terror attacks on 11 September, the Bush administration had been planning a new Middle East initiative, which had included support for the creation of such a state.
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