Sharon feels under siege in Texas

President George Bush begins a new schedule of hands-on diplomacy with Middle East leaders today.

But his opening session at his Texas ranch with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was overshadowed by a renewed dispute over Israel’s settlements in Palestinian territories.

Sharon arrived in nearby Waco under heavy security and had dinner last night with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice at his hotel.

Police blocked off surrounding streets, only allowing people to pass if they could prove they were also staying in the area.

“The tension here, the atmosphere here looks like the eve of a civil war,” Sharon said today. “All my life I was defending life of Jews. Now for the first time steps I’m taking to protect me from Jews.”

Bush has said he wants an update on Sharon’s progress in removing Jewish settlements in Gaza and parts of the West Bank. Sharon announced those plans a year ago with support from Bush. Israel is scheduled to remove all 21 Gaza Strip settlements and four more in the West Bank this summer.

The US has objected to an Israeli plan to add 3,650 homes to the West Bank’s largest settlement, Maaleh Adumim. The plan would cut off Arab neighbourhoods in Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank.

Bush has made the spread of democracy in the Mideast a goal of his second term. He also plans to meet Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah at his ranch in Crawford on April 25 and will see Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas when he visits the US next month.

Some Crawford businesses displayed the Israeli flag to welcome Sharon, while a few dozen protesters waving Palestinian flags marched around the small town yesterday. The Unity Coalition for Israel also planned a demonstration today to tout claims that Palestinian statehood would be a reward for terrorism.

Sharon is also expected to ask for US financial assistance for the Gaza withdrawal.