U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice speaks during a joint press conference with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah. (Fadi Arouri, Maan Images)

President George W. Bush and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert are scheduled to meet in Washington on Monday, Nov. 13. Following are suggested questions that journalists might pose.

Questions for Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert

1. Your recently-appointed deputy Prime Minister, Avigdor Lieberman, has advocated for various forms of ridding Israel of its Palestinian citizens, and holds other ideas that have been described by some in the Israeli press as �fascist�. Do you agree with his views and what message do you think his appointment sends about the priorities of your government and the prospects for restoring peace in the region?

2. Since the siege imposed by your government on the Palestinian Authority, the Gaza Strip is on the brink of economic collapse with hundreds of thousands of Palestinians without work and a scarcity of food and basic resources. Yet we are hearing reports that you are seeking a green-light from the Bush administration to re-invade Gaza, where just last week 18 civilians were killed in one day. This would cause an even greater humanitarian disaster. Can you confirm or deny these reports?

3. The Israel Defense Force (IDF) now admits that phosphorous bombs were used in Lebanon, and according to the United Nations, Israel dropped more than two million cluster bomblets on Lebanon during the month-long war. There are reports of Lebanese civilians, including children, still being killed by up to a million undetonated cluster bombs in their neighborhoods. Use of these weapons has been widely criticized by human rights groups. Why does Israel use these weapons?

4. It has been widely reported that the Israeli government is now negotiating with Hezbollah for the release of the two soldiers captured on July 12th, 2006. In light of this, what was accomplished by the war in Lebanon? Couldn�t you have negotiated for a release to begin with and avoided war?

5. Tomorrow, Jimmy Carter�s new book will be released and uses the term �apartheid� in the title. Given that non-Jews in both Israel and the Occupied Territories have different rights than Jewish people there, is this not institutionalized discrimination, or perhaps even a form of apartheid?

6. The Palestinian Ministry of Prisoners Affairs reported that the number of Palestinians and Arabs held in Israeli jails has exceeded 8,000 and includes more than 200 children. Are you considering a prisoner exchange for the two Israeli soldiers captured on July 12th, and if so, can you tell us which groups of prisoners might be part of this exchange?

Questions for President George W. Bush

1. Both the United Nations and members of the Israel Defense Force (IDF) have confirmed that U.S.-made cluster bombs were used by Israel in the war with Lebanon. Specifically, the UN reports that more than two million cluster bomblets were dropped on Lebanon during the month-long war. There are reports of Lebanese civilians, including children, still being killed by up to a million undetonated cluster bombs in their neighborhoods. Use of these weapons has been widely criticized by human rights groups. Will the Bush administration continue to provide Israel with these weapons even though they were used in civilian areas?

2. In 2006 alone, your administration granted the Olmert government more than $5 billion in combined grants and loan guarantees. On June 9, the House approved a Foreign Operations spending bill for FY 2007 that grants Israel $2.46 billion in military and economic aid. This figure does not include the munitions rushed to Israel this summer during the war with Lebanon. Has Prime Minister Olmert asked for additional military or economic aid and if so, do you plan to ask Congress for additional aid to Israel?

3. According to a November 2nd report in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, the Bush administration is planning to arm and train forces loyal to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to militarily overthrow the democratically-elected Hamas government. Whether or not your administration approves of the Hamas government, how is this approach consistent with your stated goal of supporting democracy in the Middle East?

4. The Israeli human rights group B�Tselem reports that in the past six years, more than 70,000 people, the vast majority of them Palestinian, have submitted requests to immigrate to the West Bank and Gaza to be reunited with their families. Israel has approved none of these requests. Palestinian Americans are often caught in this trap and live under the daily threat of deportation and separation from family, while Jewish Americans are welcomed and even granted instant citizenship. Are you discussing this policy, which discriminates against Americans based on their religion, with Prime Minister Olmert?

5. Human rights organizations and NGOs tell us that a humanitarian catastrophe is unfolding in the Gaza Strip. Just last week, 18 civilians were killed in one day. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are unemployed, and there are extreme shortages of food and basic resources. Yet we are hearing reports that Prime Minister Olmert is asking for a green light to re-invade the Gaza Strip, which would create an even worse humanitarian catastrophe. If Prime Minister Olmert re-invades the Gaza Strip, how will your administration respond?

6. The State Department regularly notes in its annual human rights reports, �institutional, legal, and societal discrimination� against the Christian and Muslim Palestinian citizens of Israel who comprise nearly 20 percent of Israel�s population. To what extent is U.S. aid to Israel contingent upon its equal treatment of Israel�s Palestinian citizens?