U.S. evangelicals back West Bank settlements

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ARIEL, West Bank -- Christians from suburban Denver dig into the soil here to plant seedlings in a vineyard as a blessing for the 18,000 Jews who have built a town on land Palestinians claim for their state.

These two dozen visitors are from a congregation that gives this settlement about $100,000 each year, much of it raised from selling Christmas fruit baskets. They believe Old Testament teachings in the Bible oblige them to support the Jewish people's return to lands they left nearly 2,000 years ago.

"Pressuring Israel to do something contrary to God's will is very dangerous," says Cheryl Morrison, 58, wife of the congregation's pastor, explaining why she thinks President Bush's new peace plan is risky.

Christians who belong to America's evangelical Protestant churches are among the most outspoken opponents of the U.S.-backed "road map" to peace that would uproot many Jewish settlers and establish a Palestinian state.

Evangelical leaders, the Rev. Jerry Falwell and the Rev. Pat Robertson among them, have criticized President Bush's vision of Palestinian statehood.

Though not of one mind when it comes to Israel or the Middle East, evangelicals account for about a quarter of U.S. voters, according to a University of Akron survey after the 2000 election. If galvanized by a vocal leadership opposed to Mr. Bush's Mideast policy, this bloc of voters could make a difference in his 2004 re-election bid.

Through rallies, Internet-based letter-writing campaigns and visits to Mr. Bush and his staff, evangelical leaders have made it clear to the president, himself a born-again Protestant, that they oppose the "road map."

The plan got off to a shaky start because of worsening violence since its June 4 launch. Christian support for Israel greatly increased during nearly three years of renewed fighting between Israelis and Palestinians.

Some Israelis say they don't want the support. They take offense at many evangelicals' belief that there will be a final, apocalyptic battle between good and evil in which Jesus returns and Jews either gain eternal life by accepting him as the messiah or perish.