Settlements

Xinhua reported Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei on Tuesday denounced US President George W. Bush's comment on Jewish settlements in the West Bank. Speaking to reporters, Qurei said the US administration speaks about a Palestinian state but has failed to define what a state means exactly. "Doesn't a state mean security, border, stability and non-existence of settlements?" Qurei said. "President Bush's remarks about Israel's right to maintain Jewish settlements do not serve the peace process or lead to a just settlement," he said.

Yes but there currently is NOT a Palestinian state. You want one, and the roadmap is expected to lead to you having one (if you can control the violence in the mean time). The question is what the boundaries of that state will be. I doubt Israel will want to maintain Jewish settlements in a Palestinian state, although some Jews may choose to live there, just as some Arabs currently live in Israel.

Al Jazeera reported He [Sharon] said Israel would keep large settlement blocs such as Maale Adumim. "The blocs will be part of Israel, with everything that that entails," Sharon said, indicating the construction that will link Maale Adumim to Jerusalem would continue. The latest dispute stems from differing interpretations of a statement made by Bush last year and reaffirmed on Monday, where he recognised Israel's need to keep large settlement blocs in the West Bank, citing "new realities on the ground".

Zaman reported Adviser of the Palestinian administration, Nabil Abu Rudeyba criticized Bush's remarks that "It is not realistic to return to the borders between Palestinian and Israel of 1949." This means legalizing the Jewish settlement in the West Bank according to Rudeyba.

I agree with Nabil Abu Rudeyba it means legalizing the Jewish settlement in the West Bank, at least the largest ones. They should become a part of Israel.