Israel plays down Bush criticism

A senior government source said Bush's speech at the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, in which he called for a freeze on settlements and an end to the "daily humiliation" of the Palestinian people at checkpoints, was designed to bolster support for the war in Iraq.

"He said what he said because he wanted to present himself as an honest broker, but he asked us to do things that we are already doing. We are not doing it 100 percent but we are trying, especially concerning the roadblocks," the source told AFP on condition of anonymity.

"We are not building new settlements, we intend to dismantle those that are unauthorised. In fact he was demanding what we are doing."

Under the terms of the US-backed roadmap peace plan, Israel is obliged to dismantle all the unauthorised settlement outposts in the West Bank which have been erected since Sharon came to power in 2001. In addition, the government is also obliged to freeze all activity in existing settlements.

The international community regards all settlement activity in the occupied territories as illegal.

However, no more than a handful of the estimated 100 outposts have been torn down since the roadmap's launch last year while US officials have turned a blind eye to "natural growth" projects in larger settlements.

Palestinian labour minister Ghassan Khatib said that it would take more than words from Bush to ensure a change in policy from the Sharon government.

"We believe that Bush's remarks on the issue of the settlements and the issue of the daily humiliation of the Palestinians are a clear reminder of the roadmap commitments," Khatib told AFP.

"It is positive but it is not enough because Israel is not paying attention to words. For Bush to be more credible he needs to go beyond verbal positions and get into practical measures, mainly pressuring Israel to commit itself to the roadmap and implement it.

"These are beautiful words but Israel will not pay attention to just words."