WASHINGTON, July 29: Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon insisted on Tuesday that construction would continue on a security fence snaking through the West Bank, despite sharp objections from the United States and the Palestinians.

Mr Sharon met President George Bush at the White House, just three days after Mr Bush said he had a “problem” with the boundary, which Israel says it needs to keep out radicals bent on launching attacks against the Israelis.

“The security fence will continue to be built with every effort to minimize the infringement on the daily life of the Palestinian population,” said the Israeli premier, in a joint press appearance with President Bush during his eighth visit to the White House as prime minister.

Mr Bush, who on Friday praised the “vision and courage” of Palestinian prime minister Mahmoud Abbas at his debut White House visit, said he understood the fence was a “sensitive issue”.

But he said he would continue to talk with mr Sharon “on how best to make sure that the fence sends the right signal, that not only is security important, but the ability for the Palestinians to live a normal life is important as well”.

Palestinians have decried the security boundary as an attempt to establish the boundaries of a future state outside the negotiating process.

The US leader, taking another step into Middle East peacemaking after giving it a wide berth during his first two years in office, said he was “encouraged” by several recent measures taken by Israel that he said furthered the cause of peace.

Israel said on Friday it would remove a number of roadblocks in the West Bank, free up frozen Palestinian funds and would turn over two more West Bank cities to Palestinian security control.

But the most significant gesture was its announcement on Sunday that it would free 540 Palestinian prisoners later this week, 210 of whom belong to the Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

Mr Bush also reminded Palestinians that the future state which the US-backed roadmap for Middle East sees being established is dependent on an end to attacks against Israeli targets.

“The rise of a peaceful Palestinian state and the long-term security of the Israeli people both depend on defeating the threat of terror groups and ending incitement and hatred,” he said.

On the same topic, Mr Sharon said Israelis were thankful for every hour of “increased quiet and less terrorism” in recent weeks.

“Mr President, I am confident that you, as the leader of the free world in its war against terror, will act to ensure that the Palestinians put a complete stop to the threat of Palestinian terrorism, so that it will never rear its head again.”

The US president, under pressure from Palestinians to urge Israel to improve what they see as spotty implementation of roadmap conditions, said he encouraged Mr Sharon to take “further steps” to improve the daily lives for Palestinians.

“I also urged the prime minister to carefully consider all the consequences of Israel’s actions as we move forward on the road to peace,” he said.

Israel’s dispute with the US administration over the fence, which was originally closer to the 1967 Green Line, started when its route was moved eastward to include several Jewish settlements.

Mr Sharon had been expected to offer Mr Bush evidence of how a Gaza Strip fence had successfully prevented attempts by Palestinian militants to enter Israel, a source on the Israeli delegation said on Monday.

But despite Mr Sharon’s insistence on its continued construction, Israel had put together an intricate plan to overcome opposition, which appeared to be focused on the sections which cut eastwards into Palestinian land, the source said.

Moving away from Israeli-Palestinian issues, Mr Sharon also used the session with reporters to praise Mr Bush for ousting Iraqi president Saddam Hussein, whom he branded one of the “most ruthless and tyrannical leaders in history”.

And he praised Mr Bush’s allegation last week that Syria and Iran were guilty of harbouring terror suspects.

“It must be made clear to these countries that their evil deeds cannot continue. There can be no compromise with terror and evil,” he said. —AFP