Posted on 06/24/2002 9:10:41 PM PDT by JohnHuang2
June 24 — President Bush today urged
Palestinians to replace Yasser Arafat as their leader and adopt "a practicing democracy" leading to an independent state in three years.
"Peace requires a new and different Palestinian leadership so that a Palestinian state can be born," the president said, unveiling his much-anticipated Middle East initiative. "I call on the Palestinian people to elect new leaders, leaders not compromised by terror."
Bush said U.S. support for Palestinian statehood will come only after sweeping reform that would ease Israel's fears.
The message from Bush to replace Arafat echoed long- time Israeli demands. It was also a dramatic change in U.S. policy and is likely to draw an angry response from much of the Arab world. In April, Bush said it was not for the American president to decide who leads what country.
Among the most prominent of Bush's demands to Palestinians were for a new constitution, an elected parliament wielding real powers, an independent judiciary, and market-based economic reforms.
He also called on Israel to halt settlements in occupied territory and withdraw its troops, but only if Palestinians demonstrate real performance on security and reform.
Today, Bush made sure to express sympathy for both sides. To the Israelis, he remarked: "You have lived too long with fear and funerals."
To the Palestinians, he said, "For decades you've been treated as pawns in the Middle East conflict. You deserve democracy and the rule of law. You deserve a life for your children and an end to occupation."
Bush said the borders and certain aspects of a future Palestinian state's sovereignty would be provisional until resolved as part of a final settlement. He also identified two of the thorniest issues — the future of the disputed city of Jerusalem and the plight of Palestinian refugees — but offered no prescription.
"When the Palestinian people have new leaders, new institutions and new security arrangements with their neighbors, the United States of America will support the creation of a Palestinian state, whose borders and certain aspects of its sovereignty will be provisional until resolved as part of a final settlement in the Middle East," Bush said.
Stimulus and Reaction
A senior administration official said that the suicide attacks last week in Israel were prompted today's speech. The attacks convinced the president and his advisers that no peace in the Middle East was possible as long as Yasser Arafat was in power, the official said.
The recent violence in Israel also strengthened the hand of hawks in the administration, like Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. Rumsfeld urged a hard line on Arafat, and felt anything else would compromise the war on terror.
Top White House aides said Bush didn't call for an international peace conference because he wanted to put security for Israel before the progress on political talks before a Palestinian state.
Meanwhile, Arafat issued a statement welcoming the president's speech. "These ideas will help push forward ideas of peace in the region," he said.
Most Palestinians were disappointed, and tried to put the best spin on the situation. They underlined what Bush said about Israel ending its occupation.
Arafat aide Saeb Erekat said he doubted anything could be done because "every Palestinian is sleeping under Israeli occupation ... Whoever is elected by the Palestinian people must be respected and the democratic choice of Palestinians must be respected because Palestinian leaders don't come parachuting in from Washington or Tel Aviv."
Palestinians also criticized Bush's speech by saying progress can only come if Israel and the Palestinians take steps together, in parallel. But Bush has put the onus for change on the Palestinians alone. Israeli officials were pleased the speech. "The president reminded the Palestinians, as he reminded the Israelis, you're either with us or against us. And he's asking the Palestinians to get on the right side of history," said Israeli government spokesperson Dore Gold.
No Pause in Violence
Bush's address had been planned for last week, but continuing violence delayed it.
His speech came after Israeli forces surrounded Arafat's West Bank headquarters today and killed six Palestinians in a major new campaign.
Earlier in the day, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said: "We are preparing massive activities against Hamas in the Gaza Strip and one could see the start of that this morning." He did not elaborate.
In a deadly attack on the outskirts of the Rafah refugee camp in Gaza earlier today, Israeli helicopter gunships fired on a convoy of cars. Israeli military sources said two senior leaders of the militant group Hamas were among the six killed. Reuters news service said two other Hamas members were also killed.
In Gaza City, Palestinian police have placed Hamas spiritual leader Sheik Ahmed Yassin under house arrest as witnesses said clashes broke out between Hamas supporters and Palestinian police.
The crackdown in Gaza came as Israeli tanks and troops rolled back into Ramallah before dawn and surrounded Arafat's compound, using rubble to block the entrance to the compound.
Ramallah has been declared a closed military zone and is the sixth West Bank city to be occupied by Israeli forces since Israel declared a new policy last week to hold on to Palestinian lands until suicide bombing attacks ceased.
The Israeli push into Ramallah was widely condemned by senior Palestinian officials. "This is a very dangerous step," said Palestinian Information Minister Yasser Abed Rabbo. "This will lead in fact into more deterioration in the situation. This will not bring security or peace to the Israelis."
But Raanan Gissin, spokesman for Sharon, said, "Israel will be there in military presence only, in order to crush terror."
Tensions High in the Territories
But even as the international community has been calling for a dialogue to end the current violence, the situation in the territories has deteriorated during the past week as nearly 600,000 Palestinians in the West Bank are under virtually round-the-clock curfews in major Palestinian towns and cities.
In Jenin, troops carried out house-to-house searches and made arrests as a building, which Israel said housed a homemade bomb factory, was imploded today.
And in Gaza, tensions were high as Palestinian police surrounded Yassin's home as Hamas spokesmen threatened reprisals against Israel for today's missile strikes.
Hamas officials also warned Arafat to lift the house arrest against Yassin in what has become a public rift with Arafat's Palestinian Authority.
Meanwhile, on the Egyptian side of the border with Gaza, Egyptian police today fired at a man attempting to cross the border into Gaza to support the intifada. Although Egypt has a peace treaty with Israel, there have been a growing number of Egyptians attempting to sneak into Gaza to support the Palestinian uprising.
An Interim Palestinian State
At a joint news conference with French Foreign Minister Dominique Galouzeau de Villepin in Cairo today, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak called for a dialogue between the Israeli and Palestinian leaders to prevent a further deterioration of the situation.
Mubarak's call came as Saudi Arabia questioned the notion of an "interim Palestinian state."
Since the end of March, Israel has intermittently conducted massive military operations across the West Bank. The Israel army has called up at least 2,000 reservists for their latest operations.
ABCNEWS' Terry Moran at the White House and Gillian Findlay in Jerusalem contributed to this report.
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