WASHINGTON -- President Bush is expected on Tuesday to urge Israel to withdraw from Palestinian areas, the White House said.
White House spokesman Ari Fleischer told reporters that Bush was expected to deliver the message when he drops by a meeting between Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and U.S. national security adviser Condoleezza Rice on Tuesday.
Saying Bush would express his condolences for the killing of far-right Israeli Tourism Minister Rehavam Zeevi last week, Fleischer added, "He will also urge Israel to withdraw from Palestinian areas."
It appeared that Bush was likely to echo a State Department statement on Monday urging Israel to withdraw its troops at once from Palestinian-controlled areas and refrain from making any further incursions.
The Rice-Peres meeting is scheduled to take place at 1:40 p.m., he said.
