- TEL AVIV (Reuters) - Israeli
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon flew to Washington on Tuesday for talks with
President Bush expected to focus on setting ground rules for Israel before
and during a possible U.S. war on Iraq.
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- The meeting on Wednesday follows rare disharmony between
Israel and the White House over raids on Palestinian militants that caused
civilian casualties and a siege of Yasser Arafat's compound last month
that Sharon aborted under U.S. pressure.
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- Sharon's seventh visit to Washington since taking office
will give him a chance to get back on the same page with Bush, who has
adopted the prime minister's argument that peace with the Palestinians
is impossible as long as Arafat leads them.
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- Israeli leaders have acknowledged the new Iraq war dynamic
in relations with the United States, noting Bush fears tough moves against
the Palestinians will hurt efforts to win Arab support for a campaign to
oust Saddam Hussein.
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- Another key issue is whether, as Israeli media have reported,
Bush will press Israel to hold its fire and leave U.S. forces to deal with
the situation if Iraq launches missiles against the Jewish state as it
did in the 1991 Gulf War.
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- Sources in Sharon's office said the prime minister would
bring Bush information showing that Palestinian militants planned to step
up attacks in Israel soon, believing Washington would stay Israel's hand.
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- Security sources said Sharon would lay out a map of Palestinian
cities and villages along with intelligence information on militant activity
in those areas and their proximity to Israeli urban centers.
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- "In effect, the talks could set red lines for Israeli
operations in the West Bank and Gaza Strip," one security source said.
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- Israel drew U.S. fire and other international condemnation
last week after a tank, infantry and helicopter raid in the densely populated
Gaza Strip to capture three militants killed 17 Palestinians and wounded
about 80, some of them civilians.
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- Sources in Sharon's office said the discussions would
also focus on what happens on the Israeli-Palestinian peace track once
a war against Iraq is over. Israeli commentators have speculated Bush will
step up U.S. mediation efforts.
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- MISSILE THREAT
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- But with what Sharon has described as "war clouds"
looming over the region, the issue of Israel's response to possible Iraqi
missile attacks will be one of the most pressing issues on the agenda,
Israeli political sources said.
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- Iraq fired 39 Scud missiles with conventional warheads
at Israel in the 1991 conflict, causing few casualties but heavy damage
in the Tel Aviv area.
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- Since then, Israel has developed its own partly U.S.-funded
ballistic missile killer, the Arrow, and received improved U.S.-made Patriot
missile batteries -- a second, lower-altitude line of defense should the
Arrow miss its target in space.
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- Sharon said last week "if Israel is attacked, it
will protect its citizens." But he said in an earlier newspaper interview
that Israel might not retaliate if casualties from a missile strike were
low.
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- However, he would likely face heavy public pressure to
strike back in the event of a biological or chemical attack. The political
sources said Israel's response to such a scenario could depend on what
Sharon hears in his talks with Bush.
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- On another front, Washington has also been pressing Sharon
to relieve the plight of ordinary Palestinians, reeling under the economic
hardship of curfew and blockades that Israel says are vital to its security.
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- Palestinians call the edicts collective punishment.
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- Addressing his cabinet on Sunday, Sharon said Israel,
which reoccupied Palestinian cities in the West Bank in June after suicide
bombings, "has a great interest in easing up on Palestinians who are
not involved in terrorism."
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- But he added, according to a cabinet statement, "the
Palestinian Authority is not enabling Israel to move forward as fast as
we would like with this policy," in a reference to what Sharon has
called Arafat's failure to rein in militants.
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