In a rare public disagreement between two strong allies, the White House rebuked Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on Friday for saying the United States risked appeasing Arab nations at Israel's expense, just as Hitler was appeased on the eve of World War Two. 
"The prime minister's comments are unacceptable," said President Bush's spokesman, Ari Fleischer. 
"Israel has no stronger friend and ally in the world than the United States, and President Bush is especially a close friend of Israel," he told reporters. 
He said U.S. displeasure had been communicated to Sharon by Secretary of State Colin Powell in a phone call to the prime minister as well as by the U.S. Embassy in Israel and Bush's National Security Council. 
Sharon on Thursday called on the United States and the West not to seek Arab support for a war against global terrorism at Israel's expense, citing the "dreadful mistake of 1938" when Europe "decided to sacrifice Czechoslovakia" to the Nazis. 
Israel, he said, "will not be Czechoslovakia." 
"The United States is not doing anything that would appease the Arabs at Israel's expense," Fleischer said. 
The dispute marked a rare public disagreement between the two allies since the Sept. 11 attacks on New York and Washington. Israel is the largest recipient of U.S. assistance, estimated at $3 billion a year. 
Sharon's blast came after Bush said on Tuesday that part of his long-term vision for Middle East peace was a Palestinian state. Bush said this had "always" been his policy. 
The New York Times had reported the Bush administration had planned a Middle East policy initiative, including endorsement of a Palestinian statement, that was derailed by the Sept. 11 attacks. 
Fleischer said the United States had been working for months to press the parties to end the violence and return to a political dialogue and "the United States will continue to press both Israel and the Palestinians to move forward." 
In response to Fleischer's comments, a Sharon aide, Zalman Shoval, said Sharon did not mean to imply the United States has acted dishonorably. 
"Prime Minister Sharon of course did not imply in any way that America and its leaders were dealing in a dishonorable way in the present situation as far as it pertains to Israel," he said. 
"What the prime minister intended was to make a warning to everyone, including ourselves, but especially to the leaders of the free world, that appeasement never works," Shoval said. 
Bush has been seeking support from Arab and Islamic nations for a coalition for his mission to bring Saudi-born militant Osama bin Laden to justice. Bin Laden, the prime suspect in the attacks, is believed to be hiding in Afghanistan. 
Fleischer said Sharon's statement appeared to be in regard to the Middle East peace process, not the broader coalition Bush is building. 
He said Bush was not seeking an apology but would like to see a rededication of all the parties to achieving peace in the Middle East. 
"I repeat: Israel has no better friend than the United States. Israel will continue to have no better friend than the United States." 
The State Department, commenting on the latest violence between Israelis and Palestinians, criticized both sides. 
"The Palestinians have failed to do everything they can to prevent the violence against Israelis, and we think the Israeli response, including the incursions into Palestinian territory, has been provocative," said spokesman Richard Boucher. 
"The Palestinian Authority must immediately take sustained and effective steps to preempt violence, to end shooting attacks, to arrest those responsible for planning and conducting acts of violence and terror," he said. 
"On the Israeli side, we think they need to refrain from provocative acts that can only escalate tensions and undermine efforts to bring about a lasting halt to violence," he added. 
"The deterioration of the situation is pretty bad right now and we're doing everything we can to get people to stop. That remains a very difficult path and one that will require a lot of continuing effort," a State Department official added.