Ahmed Qorei yesterday asked Washington to adopt a "clear and firm" policy against Jewish settlement activity in the West Bank with Israel vowing to expand existing communities. "We want a clear and firm American position concerning the Israeli government's plans to enlarge three settlement blocks in the West Bank and continue to build the wall," Qorei's office quoted him as saying.The premier made the remarks in talks with US Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs David Welch and Deputy National Security Advisor Elliott Abrams in the West Bank city of Ramallah. Qorei said the United States was aware of the "destructive threats" such plans pose to the road map, the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the entire Middle East peace process. In his own meeting with the same US officials on Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said there is no question of freezing Israel's planned expansion of Maale Adumim, the largest Jewish settlement in the West Bank. Welch and Abrams pressed Sharon for "clarifications" on the plan, a Sharon aide said. But Qorei said pussyfooting around was not enough. "Contenting yourself with asking for clarifications from Israel on its activities without adopting a firm position... will encourage (Sharon) to take unilateral decisions over the West Bank," he said.