Posted on 06/20/2002 11:21:14 PM PDT by kattracks
WASHINGTON — President Bush telephoned a message of support yesterday to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of Israel and demanded action by Yasser Arafat to curb terror.
In the conversation with Sharon, “the President reiterated his determination to push for peace and to find a way to provide more security for Israel and hope for the Palestinian people,” White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said.
As Bush and Sharon spoke, Israel pushed ahead with its drive into the West Bank and with a roundup of terror suspects. The House’s top Democrat, Rep. Richard Gephardt of Missouri, questioned whether it made sense to propose a Palestinian state “while barbaric suicide attacks on Israel continue now on a daily basis.”
“When the parties are not even talking to one another and violence is occurring every day, it is hard to imagine moving expeditiously toward a peaceful two-state solution,” Gephardt said.
There was no indication Bush was trying to temper Israel’s response to two deadly bombings in Jerusalem that have shaken and saddened the country.
“What the President said vis-a-vis action was that he was looking for action from the Palestinians and the Palestinian Authority,” Fleischer said.
“Most of the conversation was about condolence and sympathy for what Israel is going through,” the White House spokesman said.
Arafat, the Palestinian leader, issued a call yesterday for an end to attacks on Israel, but the statement was judged insufficient by the White House. “The President is still waiting for him to act,” Fleischer said.
At the State Department, meanwhile, Secretary of State Colin Powell telephoned Foreign Ministers Marwan Muasher of Jordan, Ahmed Maher of Egypt and Prince Saud al-Faisal of Saudi Arabia to urge them to improve prospects for Bush’s pending statement on Palestinian statehood by doing what they could to deter terror attacks on Israel.
Powell’s message was that “everybody does have a responsibility and we want to work together with these others to create a climate where the violence decreases and where people can actually seriously listen and look forward to moving down a path of peace,” State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said.
Powell also talked to Foreign Secretary Jack Straw of Britain, European Union diplomat Javier Solana and Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov of Russia.
Bush again deferred delivering a long-anticipated speech proposing a step-by-step establishment of a Palestinian state contingent on democratic reforms within the Palestinian Authority. Aides were making tentative plans for a Monday speech, cautioning that events in Israel could upset that timetable.
Key elements of Bush’s proposal were still under discussion yesterday. Besides the timing of the speech, these included when the state would be set up, the extent of reform required first and the ultimate boundaries, U.S. officials said.
Based on acceptable progress on reform, Bush was considering statehood late this year or early next year, on West Bank land already under Palestinian control.
A timeline for a final settlement between the Palestinians and Israel is likely to be included. The Palestinians have urged a deadline of one year of negotiations while Israel wants no deadline, officials said.
With several presidential advisers questioning Arafat’s stand on terror and his leadership, Fleischer said, “The progress the President is looking for is action. The progress the President is looking for is not rhetorical; it’s meaningful and the President is waiting to see.”
On Capitol Hill, Gephardt called on the administration to “take a more hands-on approach in the region.”
“The terrorists are running the show today,” Gephardt said. “There is no governance on the Palestinian side.”
On possibly using peacekeepers, Gephardt said, “Those are the questions we ought to be talking about.”
The President’s call to Sharon referred only marginally to Bush’s proposal for a Palestinian state, which the prime minister has said was premature, Fleischer said.
At his West Bank headquarters in Ramallah, Arafat condemned attacks on Israeli civilians and called on Palestinian militias to halt the shootings and bombings. After this week’s suicide bombings, the Israeli government decided to seize Palestinian areas and hold them until the terrorism stops.
Arafat’s role in forming a state is the subject of intense debate among Bush’s foreign policy advisers.
In the meantime, setting up a Mideast peace conference remains an elusive goal. There is no date, site or agenda ready yet, an official said.
Send them Jesse Jackson. "Stay out da Bushes! Keep hope alive!"
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