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U.S. President George W. Bush. (Reuters) Last update - 07:11 16/03/2008 Bush to push Israel, PA for progress before his May visit By Barak Ravid Tags: Israel, George Bush, road map  Washington is likely to pressure Israel and the Palestinian Authority to make significant diplomatic progress before U.S. President George W. Bush visits the region in May, a senior American official predicted. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is expected to return here in about 10 days, her second visit this month. She will urge both parties to fulfill their obligations under the road map peace plan and advance on final-status talks. " Advertisement The president's visit in May is intended to take action and achieve results, and therefore, the administration is interested in seeing some progress on the Palestinian issue," the U.S. official said. "Bush does not intend to act like a lame duck, so something has to happen on the ground by the time of the president's visit." The State Department is considering various steps that could be taken to demonstrate progress. In particular, it would like Israel to start evacuating illegal settlement outposts, which Bush deems very important. The U.S. has been disappointed by Israel's inaction and its refrain of "we are still negotiating with the settlers." Another option is moving parts of the separation fence from the West Bank to the Green Line. Yet another is enacting a law to compensate settlers who leave the West Bank voluntarily. The American official said that while the U.S. is not intervening in this matter, it believes such a law would demonstrate Israel's seriousness about a two-state solution. "The U.S. does want to force any steps on Israel; rather, it wants Israel to decide for itself what it can do," he said. Yesterday, Rice lambasted both Israel and the PA. "Frankly, not nearly enough has happened to demonstrate that the Israelis and the Palestinians fully understand ... that without following road map obligations and without improvements on the ground, it's very hard to sustain this process," she told reporters en route to Chile. "There is a lot of room for improvement on both sides." The senior American official said, "The current Israeli approach to daily Palestinian life strengthens Hamas in Gaza." The administration is working to address Israel's security concerns, he added, but Israel must also do its part. "You can't eat security, you also need an economy," he said. "For this to happen, Israel has to enable things to happen." On Friday, a tripartite committee to monitor implementation of the road map held its first meeting in Jerusalem. The meeting, chaired by U.S. General William Fraser, was attended by PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and Defense Ministry official Amos Gilad. The PA slammed Defense Minister Ehud Barak for sending a subordinate in his place. Fraser said he would work with both sides on a plan to implement their road map obligations: for the PA, fighting terror; for Israel, freezing settlements, evacuating outposts and removing roadblocks. He said fulfilling these obligations would take a year or two. Bookmark to del.icio.us   My gay family Caryn Aviv shares her personal experience as a gay Jewish co-parent. Filmed in battle Second Lebanon War film centers on one man's choice to keep his troop out of harm's way.   1.   obligations 04:24  |  Shmuelshachor 16/03/08   2.   A total joke 04:34  |  steve 16/03/08   3.   Bush/Rice ARE lame duck. Barak`s stance is rational & appropriate 05:23  |  Pavel 16/03/08   4.   In Ten Months 05:26  |  Johnny Weintraub 16/03/08   5.   you don`t need America ? 05:48  |  whizbang 16/03/08   6.   Abbas will never fulfill obligations to fight terror 06:01  |  Michael 16/03/08   7.   Bush wants Mid East progress 06:06  |  Zev 16/03/08   8.   # 4 06:30  |  Jack 16/03/08   9.   May?? What days? 07:27  |  idf_sergeant 16/03/08   10.   Quassam Rockets Don`t taste like Sugar #8 08:02  |  Zev 16/03/08   11.   SMUGGLING FROM EGYPT NEVER STOPS 08:21  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 16/03/08   12.   What a waste of Time.......! 08:35  |  Dagma 16/03/08   13.   The only Danger - OLMERT..... 08:49  |  Dolly 16/03/08   14.   #8The `peace` Bush advocates is not practical & he knows it well. 08:55  |  Pavel 16/03/08   15.   bush should stay home and tend the cows 10:18  |  v hardman 16/03/08   16.   Reply to Jack (Post No. 4) 10:19  |  Johnny Weintraub 16/03/08   17.   "The U.S. doesn`t want to force any steps on Israel"..... 10:20  |  Swiss (Dino) 16/03/08   18.   The separation fence should ALL be on the Green Line 10:25  |  Ivar 16/03/08   19.   Bush Must Threaten Sanctions to Force Israeli Compiance 10:33  |  Mr. know-it-all 16/03/08   20.   It is High Time For the US to Distance Itself From Israel 10:44  |  Johan Odin 16/03/08   21.   Careful Mr Bush 11:07  |  Des 16/03/08   22.   There can never be a two state reality 12:14  |  petra 16/03/08   23.   Bush is a great man! 12:25  |  US CITIZEN 16/03/08   24.   US and Israel-#5 12:33  |  CSB 16/03/08   25.   # 4 13:07  |  Myles 16/03/08   26.   Well, says it all, really....... 13:07  |  Johnboy 16/03/08   27.   A PERFECT TIME TO GO TO MIDDLE EAST 13:32  |  indrajaya 16/03/08   28.   The criminal in the White House is not going to get his wish of 13:41  |  lakshmi 16/03/08   29.   BUSH PUSHING ANTI-ISRAEL AGENDA OF STATE DEPT ARABISTS 14:08  |  Joel Stein 16/03/08   30.   ONLY SOLUTION: GAZA UNDER EGYPT; PARTS OF W.BANK LINKED TO JORDAN 14:44  |  G. Marcus 16/03/08   31.   The greatest progress would be having Shas quit the perverse coal 17:36  |  Chaim 16/03/08   32.   Bush and Rice 06:09  |  Bev Ridings 17/03/08   33.   What an Oxymoron!!!! A one sided solution??? 06:37  |  American 07/04/08   34.   Solution and the one sided peace ??? 06:51  |  American 07/04/08

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