Bush sets tough conditions for emergence of Palestinian state

AFP | 6/24/02 | Philippe Debeusscher

[kattracks]

WASHINGTON, June 24 (AFP) - President George W. Bush on Monday laid down tough conditions for US support for a future Palestinian state, demanding that Palestinians replace Yasser Arafat by a new leadership "not compromised by terror."

In a key speech billed for weeks as a plan to revive moribund Israeli-Palestinian peace talks after nearly 22 months of bloodshed, the US leader outlined a strategy sure to please Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

For months Sharon, who has been welcomed at the White House six times since he took office, had been trying to impress on Bush the need to stop treating the Palestinian Authority leader as a legitimate partner for peace.

Without mentioning Arafat by name, the US leader pointedly remarked that "peace requires a new and different Palestinian leadership, so that a Palestinian state can be born."

And he urged the Palestinian people to elect new leaders "not compromised by terror."

"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," Bush pledged.

"Today, Palestinian authorities are encouraging, not opposing terrorism," the US leader said. "This is unacceptable."

This stance marks a major shift in Washington's Mideast policy as until now the United States took pains to recognize Arafat's legitimacy although Bush has, since he took office 18 months ago, shown deep mistrust of the Palestinian leader and refused to meet with him.

It will not be welcomed by Arab leaders who have always expressed public support for Arafat and may well conclude that Bush is now clearly tilting toward Israel.

While focusing most of his speech on the need for sweeping Palestinian reforms to facilitate the emergence of a Palestinian state with temporary undefined borders initially, Bush was much less demanding toward Sharon.

"As we make progress toward security, Israeli forces need to withdraw fully to positions they held prior to September 28, 2000. And consistent with the recommendations of the Mitchell committee, Israeli settlement activity in the occupied territories must stop." the US leader said.

Bush also urged Israel to allow the Palestinian economy to develop and as violence subsides permit "innocent Palestinians to resume work and normal life. "

While he reiterated that UN resolutions 242 and 338 remained the basis for a global settlement, he did not address the most contentious issues, such as the final borders of the future Palestinian state, the final status of Jerusalem or the fate of the 3.7 million Palestinian refugees.

He said that "with intensive effort by all of us," a final Middle East peace "could be reached within three years from now."

But ignoring the wishes of his European allies, Bush made no mention of mechanisms to revive the stalled peace negotiations.

He said he had asked US Secretary of State Colin Powell to "work intensively" with leaders in the region and elsewhere to achieve Palestinian reforms, but omitted any mention of a proposed international conference.

He also said nothing about a new Powell trip to the Middle East to rally support for his new strategy, which appears to signal a victory for the hawks in his administration.

[McGavin999]

All of these articles have ignored one thing. Bush has made some pretty serious committments to the Palestinians. All they have to do is get serious about having a state and they can have one. His only requirement is that it will NOT be a state that harbors terrorists.

That's really not too much to ask kattracks.

[Howlin]

Here's the choice:

Look, just! MORE

[kylaka]

Its not too much to ask, unless you want them all dead.
And that is what they want.