April 14 (Bloomberg) -- Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat warned that U.S. support for Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's plan to retain some Jewish settlements in the West Bank could kill the Middle East peace process.

Sharon, who's scheduled to visit the White House today, said before leaving Israel that he will ask for U.S. President George W. Bush's backing of his proposal to evacuate the Gaza Strip while keeping six settlement areas in the West Bank.

"The Palestinian leadership warns of the dangers of reaching such an accord, because it means clearly the complete end of the peace process,'' said a statement faxed by Arafat's office in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

Bush said Monday that Israel's withdrawal from Gaza must not conflict with the internationally backed "road map'' plan that lays out steps for an independent Palestinian state by 2005 in return for a Palestinian crackdown on terrorism.


Arafat's statement simply amazes me. What peace process? The peace process of terrorism that Arafat not only supports but actually invented? I understand that it takes two to tango and that this isn't a one-sided affair. Still it strikes me that taking out Arafat might be a way to actually start a legitimate peace process.