Letter from Mr. Dov Weissglas to Dr. Condoleezza Rice. (18/April/2004)

Dr. Condoleezza Rice
National Security Adviser
The White House
Washington, D.C.

Dear Dr. Rice,

On behalf of the Prime Minister of the State of Israel, Mr. Ariel Sharon, I
wish to reconfirm the following understanding, which had been reached
between us:

1. Restrictions on settlement growth: within the agreed principles of
settlement activities, an effort will be made in the next few days to have a
better definition of the construction line of settlements in Judea &
Samaria. An Israeli team, in conjunction with Ambassador Kurtzer, will
review aerial photos of settlements and will jointly define the construction
line of each of the settlements.

2.Removal of unauthorized outposts: the Prime Minister and the Minister of
Defense, jointly, will prepare a list of unauthorized outposts with
indicative dates of their removal; the Israeli Defense forces and/or the
Israeli Police will take continuous action to remove those outposts in the
targeted dates. The said list will be presented to Ambassador Kurtzer within
30 days.

3. Mobility restrictions in Judea & Samaria: the Minister of Defense will
provide Ambassador Kurtzer with a map indicating roadblocks and other
transportational barriers posed across Judea & Samaria. A list of barriers
already removed and a timetable for further removals will be included in
this list. Needless to say, the matter of the existence of transportational
barriers fully depends on the current security situation and might be
changed accordingly.

4.Legal attachments of Palestinian revenues: the matter is pending in
various courts of law in Israel, awaiting judicial decisions. We will urge
the State Attorney?s office to take any possible legal measure to expedite
the rendering of those decisions.

5. The Government of Israel extends to the Government of the United States
the following assurances:

a. The Israeli government remains committed to the two-state solution ?
Israel and Palestine living side by side in peace and security ? as the key
to peace in the Middle East.

b. The Israeli government remains committed to the Roadmap as the only route
to achieving the two-state solution.

c. The Israeli government believes that its disengagement plan and related
steps on the West Bank concerning settlement growth, unauthorized outposts,
and easing of restrictions on the movement of Palestinians not engaged in
terror are consistent with the Roadmap and, in many cases, are steps
actually called for in certain phases of the Roadmap.

d. The Israeli government believes that further steps by it, even if
consistent with the Roadmap, cannot be taken absent the emergence of a
Palestinian partner committed to peace, democratic reform, and the fight
against terror.

e. Once such a Palestinian partner emerges, the Israeli government will
perform its obligations, as called for in the
Roadmap, as part of the performance-based plan set out in the Roadmap for
reaching a negotiated final status agreement.

f. The Israeli government remains committed to the negotiation between the
parties of a final status resolution of all outstanding issues.

g. The Government of Israel supports the United States? efforts to reform
the Palestinian security services to meet their roadmap obligations to fight
terror. Israel also supports the American efforts, working with the
international community, to promote the reform process, build institutions,
and improve the economy of the Palestinian Authority and to enhance the
welfare of its people, in the hope that a new Palestinian leadership will
prove able to fulfill its obligations under the Roadmap. The Israeli
Government will take all reasonable actions requested by these parties to
facilitate these efforts.

h. As the Government of Israel has stated, the barrier being erected by
Israel should be a security rather than a political barrier, should be
temporary rather than permanent, and therefore not prejudice any final
status issues including final borders, and its route should take into
account, consistent with security needs, its impact on Palestinians not
engaged in terrorist activities.

Sincerely,

Dov Weissglas
Chief of the
Prime Minister's Bureau

Link: http://tinyurl.com/2wtga