US President George W. Bush called on Israel to dismantle wildcat settlement outposts on occupied Palestinian land, in an interview published on Friday ahead of his visit to the region next week.
"We expect them to honour their commitments," Bush said in the interview with Israel's mass-selling Yediot Aharonot daily.
"The Israeli government has said that they're going to get rid of unauthorised settlements, and that's what we expect. That's what we've been told," he said, according to an English-language transcript of the interview provided by the newspaper.
Asked whether he supported Israel retaining some of its large settlement blocs in the occupied West Bank under a final-status agreement, Bush said: "Both understand, as well, that I said conditions on the ground, the realities of the situation will help determine what... the borders look like."
"But the unauthorised settlements, which is different from authorised settlements, is an issue we've been very clear on."
Wildcat outposts are Israeli settlements established in the West Bank without government permission. The international community considers all Israeli settlements on occupied Palestinian land as illegal.
The issue of Israeli settlements is one of the most divisive issues of the decades-long Middle East conflict and has been the leading source of discord since the two sides revived peace talks after nearly a seven-year hiatus in late November.
Bush said he was embarking on his first trip to the region while president "to help boost the confidence of both parties to reach out for a vision."
"I'm also going to the Arab world.... to convince the Arab nations that Israel is a partner -- should be a partner in peace; that this vision is in the interests not only of Israel and the Palestinians, but it's in the interests of the Arab world."
"The American president can help move the process forward by reminding friends and allies in the Middle East about the importance of the two-state solution and what they can do to help."
His talks in the region will also touch on the issue of Iran, he said, saying he would "spend time talking about the strategic implications of a US presence in a way that bolsters governments and at the same time helps serve as a bulwark against aggressive regimes such as Iran."
The United States is leading a campaign in the West against Iran's nuclear programme which it fears could be a cover for ambitions to build atomic weapons.
Bush is set to spend three days in Israel and the Palestinian territories beginning next Wednesday in the first visit here by a sitting US president in nine years, following his predecessor Bill Clinton's trip in December 1998.
The visit is part of a January 8-16 trip to the Middle East that aims to push along the peace talks with an eye on creating an independent Palestinian state before Bush leaves office in January 2009.
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