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April 12, 2005
Orthodox Union
Statement on Bush-Sharon Meeting
The Orthodox Union today
expressed appreciation for the strength of the U.S.-Israel
relationship and the continued closeness of these ties. We
especially appreciate the rapport between President Bush and Prime
Minister Ariel Sharon as manifested by their meeting Monday at the
President’s Crawford, TX ranch.
We applaud President Bush’s continuing commitment to the road map,
which places first and foremost the obligation of the Palestinians
to dismantle the terrorist infrastructure, including disarming the
terrorists, collecting illegal weapons, stopping missile attacks
and smuggling of weapons, and ceasing all incitement to hatred by
the Palestinian Authority and terrorist groups. This is the first
and most necessary step upon which any hope for peace rests. We
trust that when Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas has his
own visit with the President, that Mr. Bush will make that point
perfectly clear to him as he and Secretary of State Rice have done
in the past.
We welcome recognition by the President that Israel must have
secure and recognized borders, that Israel can never return to the
1949 armistice lines, and that the major Israeli population
centers and settlements in Judea and Samaria will remain part of
Israel in any final settlement.
We believe that Israel, in making, painful sacrifices in an effort
to achieve peace and security, has acted and continues to act in
good faith. The Palestinian Authority must live up to the
commitments it assumed when it accepted the Road Map. As President
Bush said, “Defeating terror is the only way to build peace.”
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