Palestinians reject Bush speech

London Telegraph ^ | 6-25-02

[SJackson]

Palestinian officials have rejected calls by US President George W Bush for a new Palestinian leadership "not compromised by terror".

Mr Bush said in a long-awaited speech on Middle East policy that "reform must be more than cosmetic changes or a veiled attempt to preserve the status quo" if the Palestinians are to fulfil their aspirations for a state alongside Israel. He called on Palestinians to create an accountable, democratic government - something rarely found in the Arab Middle East.

Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon released a statement saying that "when the Palestinian Authority undergoes genuine reforms and a new leadership takes its place ... it will be possible to discuss ways of moving forward by diplomatic means".

In his own statement, Mr Arafat said the Palestinian leadership welcomed Mr Bush's ideas as a "serious effort to push the peace process forward" and hopes "the details will be discussed during the direct and bilateral meetings with the American administration" and international mediators.

Mr Arafat ignored the call for a leadership change, but senior aides rejected it. Palestinian cabinet minister Saeb Erekat said the call was "not acceptable" and that Mr Arafat "was elected in free and fair elections, and this must be respected".

Mr Bush was seen to be making an implicit demand that Mr Arafat must step down before any US peace-brokering in the region can start.

Israel blames Mr Arafat for the recent suicide bombings and shootings. The US has said that Mr Arafat should have done more to prevent such attacks.

An official spokesman for British Prime Minister Tony Blair said: "We welcome the speech and we welcome the engagement this demonstrates from the US administration.

"It states quite clearly a right to Palestinian statehood within three years on the basis of the 1967 borders, and talks about the right for Israel to exist within those borders."

He added: "We have always said it is for the Palestinian people to choose their own leader.

European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana welcomed the speech as a sign of "renewed engagement" by Washington, and said that the EU shared Mr Bush's objective of two states living side by side in peace and security

French foreign minister Dominique Galouzeau de Villepin said: "The speech... converges with the aims of France and the European Union, whether it be on the fight against terrorism, a stop to settlement building and an end to occupation."

Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak has called Mr Bush's speech "totally balanced," but said that "some points must be clarified".

Japan's prime minister Junichiro Koizumi said: "There are various difficult points remaining, such as the problem of leaders. I won't go into detail, but I appreciate the peace proposal."

[ppaul]

Bush did not advocate wiping the Jews off the face of the earth and leveling every synagogue in Israel. No wonder the "Palestinians" hate him.

[SJackson]

Its official. The Palestinians have told the President Of The United States in not so many words, "F**k you." And we're told they want peace. Yeah right.

It's interesting how the Telegraph can look at the same Bush speach, read (rather than ignore) the same PA statements, and come to such a different conclusion than most other editorial pages have today. Accurate too.

[Pagey]

Their decision. They get to live with the consequences.

Absolutely,Positively,They Will Live (or Die) because of those 'interesting' decisions also.Sometimes it's so hard to take the blinders off, but if you're willing to kill yourself anyway,and they are,what's the point of agreeing to anything?The POTUS has given them more chances than they've earned,and you can't make people stop hating and it's not going to start now,even if you gave them everything they want.Perhaps the President can see this now.

[colorado tanker]

"He called on Palestinians to create an accountable, democratic government - something rarely found in the Arab Middle East. Rare? Name one." The only one is Israel. Some people include Turkey. Turkey, although islamic, is not arab, however. Interestingly, Bahrain has been moving toward democratic government. Bahrain is small, but influential because it is a financial center an is home port of the 5th Fleet.

[RISU]

Yes, I knew that, but silly me, I was thinking maybe if Clinton didn't bomb the shit out of people every time he got caught with his pants around his ankles, maybe, juist maybe, they wouldn't hate us so much.

But, who can tell. They might.

We are too busy trying to run the world. We ought to tighten our borders, and take care of our own.