Washington: In a dramatic change of stand to accommodate Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, US President George W Bush today (Apr 14, 2004) endorsed Israel's plan to keep part of the West Bank, going counter to the Palestinian demand for a return to pre-war borders.

After endorsing Sharon's decision to withdraw unilaterally from the Gaza strip and dismantle "a few" of the West bank settlements, Bush said, "These are historic and courageous actions."

Speaking after a meeting with Sharon, Bush said his position "recognises the new realities about security".

In a face-saving exercise aimed at Arab countries, he said final borders between Israel and the Palestinians will still have to be negotiated.

Until recently, the consistent US position had been that Israeli settlements on occupied lands was an "obstacle to a settlement".

The settlement negotiated by former President Bill Clinton with then Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat collapsed on the Palestinian demand of right of return of Palestinian refugees to their old areas in Israel a demand, which, if conceded, would have put the Jews in a minority in Israel in a few years.

Bush is believed to have agreed that displaced Palestinians, when a Palestinian State is created, should be rehabilitated in the Palestinian State and not in Israel.

Bush commended Sharon for his "bold and courageous decision" to withdraw from Gaza and "parts of the West Bank". He called on the Palestinians and their Arab neighbours to "match that boldness and that courage". "All of us," said Bush, "must show the wisdom and the will to bring lasting peace to that region."

The Palestinian people "must insist on change and on a leadership that is committed to reform and progress and peace. We will help but the most difficult work is theirs," he said.

"The United States is strongly committed, and I am strongly committed, to the security of Israel as a vibrant Jewish State," he said.

On the barrier being erected by Israel on the West Bank and to which the Arabs have objected, Bush said, "The barrier being erected by Israel as a part of that security effort should, as your (Israeli) Government has stated, be a security, rather than political barrier." "It 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."

The United States, said Bush, will not prejudice the outcome of final status negotiations (between Israel and the Palestinians). That matter "is for the parties. But the realities on the ground and in the region have changed greatly over the last several decades, and any final settlement must take into account those realities and be agreeable to the parties."