Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon expressed his "appreciation" this evening for Israel's special relationship with the US after Washington lashed out at his anti-US critique as "unacceptable."
"During a telephone conversation with US Secretary of State Colin Powell, Mr Sharon expressed his appreciation of the profound friendship and special relations that unite the United States and Israel, and especially of President George W. Bush," the Israeli government office said in a statement.
It was referring to Mr Powell's telephone call to Mr Sharon earlier in the day in which the US foreign policy chief said Mr Bush considered as "unacceptable" his criticism that the US should not "appease" Arab states at Israel's expense.
Mr Sharon also told Mr Powell that he appreciated Mr Bush's "courageous and bold decision to fight terrorism" and asked him to pass on the message to the president, the office said.
At a press conference last night, Mr Sharon warned that Mr Bush in forging his coalition against terrorism should not try "to appease the Arabs at our expense. We won't accept it."
He called on the Western democracies "not to commit again the terrible mistake made in 1938 when European democracies sacrificed Czechoslovakia for a temporary solution.
"Israel will not be Czechoslovakia," he warned.
Mr Sharon was alluding to the 1938 Munich conference, when European powers yielded to German dictator Adolf Hitler and allowed him to take over part of the then Czechoslovakia.
Mr Bush has been under fire from Arab states for his hands-off approach to the yearlong Palestinian uprising and under pressure to lure moderate Arab and Muslim states into a global alliance against terrorism in the wake of the September 11 attacks.
In response, his administration recently pressured Israel to agree to a ceasefire with the Palestinians, and said that creating a Palestinian state has "always" been on the US Middle East agenda.
AFP