RAMALLAH, West Bank - The Palestinians expressed disappointment Thursday at a meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and President George W. Bush, saying the US leader did not press Israel to withdraw from re-occupied territories.
"We were expecting President Bush to ask Sharon to implement UN Security Council resolution 1435 calling for an Israeli withdrawal from re-occupied Palestinian territories," said Nabil Abu Rudeina, top aide to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.
Resolution 1435, adopted late last month during an Israeli siege of Arafat's headquarters, demanded a prompt withdrawal of the Israeli forces from Palestinian cities and a return to the positions held before the Palestinian uprising broke out in September 2000.
It also demanded that both sides cease all acts of violence.
At their meeting in Washington, Bush gave Sharon a green light to retaliate against any Iraqi attack on Israel, but there was little indication of US pressure to ease the situation of the Palestinians.
"We never had such close relations with any president of the United States as we have with you. And we never had such a cooperation, in everything, as we have with the current administration," said a visibly pleased Sharon.
Bush said only that Sharon had pledged to "consider" paying 420 million dollars in tax refunds Israel owes the Palestinians, provided there is US-led monitoring to ensure that none of the money goes to fund militant groups.
But he added that he was sending his top Middle East diplomat, William Burns, back to the region on a two-week, 12-nation tour to help achieve "concrete, real, objective, measurable reforms" of the Palestinian Authority "so that there is a peaceful future for the region.
Rudeina also complained that another meeting on Wednesday between Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erakat and Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, the first since September 10, brought "no results".
"We tackled the issue in the meeting of improving the situation in the territories, responding to humanitarian needs and also ways of resuming negotiations," he told Israeli public radio.
He gave no further details on the talks.
As well as Erakat, the Palestinian finance minister Salam Fayad attended the talks in Jerusalem, said a Palestinian official late Wednesday.
"The two delegations agreed to hold a big meeting early next week," said the official, who asked not to be named.
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