CAMERA staff elicited the following New York Times correction today regarding an article Friday which inaccurately stated that President Bush called on Israel to halt construction of the West Bank barrier in “Palestinian territory”:
Error (New York Times, Elisabeth Bumiller, 5/27/05): In a gesture to Palestinians, Mr. Bush used the news conference to restate a longstanding policy outlining what the United States expected of Israel. He said that included no expansion of Jewish settlements in the West Bank and the area around Jerusalem, a halt to construction of a barrier that would intrude into Palestinian territory, the removal of Israeli troops from the West Bank and an easing of checkpoints and roadblocks that disrupt life in the West Bank.
Correction (5/30/05): An article on Friday about President Bush’s meeting in Washington on Thursday with Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, paraphrased incorrectly from Mr. Bush’s remarks at a news conference regarding the barrier that Israel is building in the West Bank. He said the route should take into account the barrier’s impact on Palestinians not engaged in terrorist activities. He did not call for a halt to construction of a barrier that would intrude into Palestinian territory.