Report: Bush to propose interim Palestinian state next week

U.S. President George W. Bush looks set to make public his privately-expressed intention to propose a Palestinian state - but the timetable, borders and nature of the nascent state are still far from clear. The New York Times reported Friday on its Internet site that White House officials are working on a speech for the President, to be delivered next week, in which he is expected to lay out his proposal for the advancement of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.

The chief Palestinian negotiator said on Friday that a promised U.S. proposal to create a Palestinian state must also set a deadline for ending Israel's occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat demanded that Bush set a timetable for reaching a clearly defined goal, which should be the creation of a state in all of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

"What is needed from the U.S. administration is to specify a mechanism and to specify a timeline that will end the Israeli occupation," Erekat said Friday. "This must go in parallel with the building of Palestinian institutions and parallel with ending the Israeli aggression and attacks and settlements," he added.

The centerpiece of the plan that Bush will present is a provisional Palestinian state - an idea Bush discussed in his meeting with Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal on Thursday. The precondition for such a state's establishment will be the fundamental reform of the Palestinian Authority, under international supervision, in three areas: governance methods, security services and financial administration. The American message to the Palestinians will be that the sooner reforms are implemented, the sooner a Palestinian state will be declared. Bush's remarks Monday during his joint press conference with Sharon clearly hinted at this.

The Times reported Friday that, during his meeting with Prince Saud, Bush indicated he had decided to propose the plan, probably next week, in an attempt to help contain Middle East violence and give some immediate hope to Palestinians living under Israeli occupation.

Quoting "officials familiar with the talks," the newspaper reported that the U.S. president did not provide all of the details of his plan in the 20-minute meeting with the Saudi minister, but indicated it was designed to help quell violence and hold Palestinian leaders to a high standard of accountability.

The decision comes after much debate within the Bush administration over whether such a step could pacify the region. Bush adopted a two-state solution last year but has never said how or when Israel should end its occupation of the West Bank and Gaza.

The talks with Prince Saud included discussions on how to refer to the as-yet-undefined borders of a Palestinian state in any declaration, how to set a timeline for negotiations and how to arrange for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the West Bank so Palestinian institutions can be rebuilt, the newspaper said in an article on its Web site.

The Saudi minister told reporters, "I was very pleased with what I heard from the president" and said he would answer more questions on Friday.

But Prime Minister Sharon has rejected the idea, arguing that a timetable was tried in the past and merely created exaggerated expectations, which in turn led to the current violence. Bush accepted this argument and agreed the performance benchmark system is better. But the Americans insist that they - rather than Israel, as Sharon had wanted - determine whether these benchmarks have been met.

Administration policy-makers have been searching for a compromise formula that would not only meet some of the demands of both sides, but also make tough demands of both sides. Over the last few weeks, they have asked Sharon whether Israel would be willing to resume honoring the Oslo map, with its clear distinction between Area A (full Palestinian control) and Area B (Palestinian civil administration but Israeli security control). This distinction has been effectively erased since the outset of Operation Defense Shield in late March. Washington also wants a full settlement freeze, to which Sharon objects. He told American officials that he agreed to a settlement freeze as part of the Mitchell program, but that program also called for a cease-fire and various other Palestinian security steps that were never implemented.

In the book authored by John McTernan and myself, "Israel the Blessing or the Curse," we have identified events which took place on or close to the same-day Israel was called on or pressured to give up her covenant land by the United States or others.

The following information has been distributed before. This material is being offered for our new readers.

President George W. Bush

Significant Events

1. March 31, 2001: Bush’s First International Crisis—On the day that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarek arrived in Washington for Middle East talks, a Chinese fighter jet “bumps” into one of the country’s EP-3 reconnaissance planes, forcing it, along with the 24-person crew, to make an emergency landing in China. The resulting crisis completely overshadows the visits of both Mubarek and Jordan’s King Abdullah II (on April 10). After King Abdullah II speaks with Christian leaders, members of Congress, and others to get behind the :land for peace” initiative, he visits the White House on April 10 and then returns home to Jordan. On the very next day. China agrees to release the “detained” airmen from the downed plane.

2. May 22, 2001: Bush’s First Political Crisis—On this day, President Bush and Secretary of State Colin Powell publicly endorse the Mitchell Report, calling for Israel to give up land in exchange for peace. Concurrently, Vermont Senator James Jeffords confirmed he was leaving the Republican Party. On the same-day, the Dali Lama arrives in Washington, angering China, and the Chinese Premier calls Bush “unfit” to be President. For scheduling reasons, Senator Jeffords officially leaves the Republican Party on May 25, becoming an Independent and allowing the Democrats to obtain a majority in the Senate, throwing judicial and diplomatic nominations into question. Also on the same day, Daniel Kurtzer is nominated for Ambassador to Israel and is endorsed by pro-land giveaway Reform and Conservative Jews, making up 85% of American Jewry.

3. June 8, 2001: Bush’s First Natural Disaster—Reuters News Service reports that United States CIA director George Tenet and a special envoy from Washington have spearheaded an international effort on Friday “to strengthen a fragile Israeli-Palestinian cease-fire” plagued by fresh violence. The Central Intelligence Agency director hosted talks between senior Israeli and Palestinian security officials in Ramallah, while Assistant Secretary of State William Burns met Palestinian President Yasser Arafat in the West Bank. At the same time, catastrophic flooding overnight brings the Houston area to a near standstill, with nearly 10,000 people left homeless and 3,000 homes and businesses affected, Gov. Rick Perry declares a state of emergency in the Houston area and 28 southeast Texas counties. More than two feet of rain falls at Bush Intercontinental Airport causing flights to be cancelled until early Sunday morning.

4. September 11, 2001: Largest Terrorism Event in History—The World Trade Center and Pentagon terror attacks produced the most expensive insurance event in U.S. history ($30 to $50 billion estimate). At the same time the Bush administration, in cooperation with the Saudis, was completing the most comprehensive plan and message ever to be offered on Israel’s covenant land by an American President, and to be presented by Secretary of State Powell to the United Nations General Assembly. Saudi Arabia’s Prince Bandar bin Sultan stated he went from being "the happiest man in the world" on Monday night, September 10, to experiencing the worst crisis of his career on September 11. Dreams of a new Middle East peace initiative evaporated. The realization that most of the hijackers were Saudis "fell on me ... like the whole house collapsed over my head," Bandar said later. He couldn't imagine a way to "do more damage or worse damage to Islam or to Saudi Arabia."

5. October 2, 2001: First Anthrax Case in 25 Years—On the same day that the first anthrax case in 25 years breaks out, President Bush endorses a Palestinian state.. The cases increase and end up costing the U.S. government billions of dollars along with destabilization of government offices for a few months.

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