US President Says Israel Has Right to Defend Itself

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, June 11, 2002

US President Says Israel Has Right to Defend Itself

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U.S. President George W. Bush told visiting Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon that Israel has the right to defend itself against terrorist attacks as Israeli tanks and troops made a new incursion into the West Bank city of Ramallah.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting with Sharon in the OvalOffice, Bush said: "There are people in the Middle East who want to use terror as a way to derail any peace process."

"We've got to work together to create the conditions that prevent a few from stopping what most people in the region want, which is peace," he noted.

Bush told reporters he and Sharon talked about how to achieve peace in the Middle East.

"I reiterated my strong view that we need to work toward two states living side by side in peace, and we talked about how to achieve security and peace and economic hope for all people in theregion," Bush said.

White House spokesman Ari Fleischer told reporters shortly before the Bush-Sharon meeting that the Bush administration endorsed Israel's encircling of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat'sheadquarters in Ramallah.

"Our understanding is that the Israeli operation is limited in duration and it is to go after a specific target -- terrorists," Fleischer said.

However, "the United States will be closely monitoring what Israel is doing and the United States again reminds Israel about the importance of remembering the repercussions of any action Israel takes today impacting the broader goals of achieving peace tomorrow," he added.

Israeli forces, accompanied by as many as 100 tanks and armoredpersonnel carriers, rolled into Ramallah before dawn on Monday andtook key positions. About 50 Palestinians were arrested, including30 policemen who were held for a time and then released, the Israel Defense Forces said.

Israeli forces also raided Arafat's Ramallah compound on Wednesday in response to last week's suicide car bombing that killed 17 Israelis on a bus in Norther Israel.

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