[Does anyone know what chat-show this was on?]
Senior Republican calls on Israel to expel West Bank Arabs Matthew Engel in Washington Friday May 03 2002 The Guardian
The most senior Republican in the House of Representatives has called for Palestinians to be expelled from the West Bank, which should be annexed in its entirety by the state of Israel.
Dick Armey, majority leader in the House, shocked a primetime television audience when he said in a chat-show interview, that East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza - all occupied by the Israeli army since the 1967 war - should be considered a part of Israel proper. He was "content to have a Palestinian state", but argued that such an entity could be set up inside other Arab countries.
"There are many Arab nations that have many hundreds of thousands of acres of land and soil and property and opportunity to create a Palestinian state. I happen to believe the Palestinians should leave."
Mr Armey later backed down slightly and said he did not believe "peaceful Palestinian civilians should be forcibly expelled" but only those who supported terrorist acts.
His original extremist comments underline the extent of President Bush's dilemma of plotting a balanced course.
On the one hand, Mr Bush is keen to get Middle East peace talks back on track, hence this week's plan, announced by the secretary of state Colin Powell on Thursday night, to hold a peace conference this summer.
On the other, he is aware that if he adopts a stance seen as too close to the Palestinians he risks alienating public and political sentiment which has shifted significantly in favour of Israel.
Mr Armey's views have been scarcely reported in America. The only mention was a passing reference in the deepest recesses of yesterday's New York Times and Washington Post.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations called Mr Armey's views "beyond belief". Spokesman Jason Erb said that "even the most extreme Israelis are reluctant to publicly advocate such an insane policy". When Ari Fleischer, Mr Bush's spokesman, was asked for the president's view on what appeared to be an argument for ethnic cleansing, he changed the subject.
However, Mr Armey's views were not far out of line with on Thursday night's debate in the House, which overwhelmingly passed a 920-word resolution entirely in favour of Israel, save for a call to pursue peace and a reference to the "humanitarian needs of the Palestinian people" - tacked on at the White House's request.
Both the House and the Senate voted for motions which started by saying that "the US and Israel are now engaged in a common struggle against terrorism".
"Let every terrorist know, the American people will never abandon freedom, democracy or Israel," Mr Armey's deputy, Tom DeLay, said in the debate. "All free people must recognise that Israel's fight is our fight."
The Senate resolution, promoted by Joe Lieberman, Al Gore's running-mate who is in creasingly talked about as a possible Democratic candidate in 2004, resolved to "stand in solidarity with Israel".
Mr Fleischer said the president respected the right of Congress to pass non-binding resolutions, but warned that he could not operate with "535 secretaries of state".
Since his party lost control of the Senate, Mr Armey has become arguably President Bush's most-important ally on Capitol Hill.
Although Mr Armey retires after elections this year and is likely to be succeeded by the arguably more extreme Mr DeLa, he is unlikely to spend his retirement seeing the world: "I've been to Europe once," he said, in 1998. "I don't have to go again."
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