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President Bush said Thursday that a Palestinian-Israeli peace treaty could be signed within a year, but that the subsequent creation of a Palestinian state will take longer and require both sides to make "painful political concessions."
Those include, he said, an end to the Israeli "occupation" of Arab land seized in a 1967 war, a recognition by the Palestinians that some disputed territory will remain with Israel, and compromise over the status of Jerusalem, a city which both sides claim as important to their identity and faith.
U.S. President George W. Bush, hardening his tone towards Israel on Thursday, urged an end to "the occupation" of the West Bank and pushed for a peace treaty to be signed within a year to create a Palestinian state.
The United States rarely uses the politically charged word "occupation" to describe Israel's hold on lands captured in a 1967 war. It is a term Palestinians seeking a state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip employ frequently to describe their plight.
The patriotic tunes that greeted President Bush as he arrived in Israel Wednesday for the first time in his presidency set the tone for a historic visit.
But given the laudatory remarks of Mr. Bush and his Israeli counterparts on the airport tarmac, the visit seemed focused on celebrating and strengthening the US-Israel relationship, throwing into question whether Bush would be equally welcomed Thursday in the West Bank.
The thorny question of Israel's West Bank settlements has dogged President Bush's overarching message during his eight-day tour of the Middle East: Democracies must unite to confront terrorism.
In language that is unusually blunt considering his warm relations with Israel, Bush has made clear his frustration with Israel's failure so far to deal with outposts, or unauthorized new settlements.
Leaders from the Palestinian party Hamas that won the elections in Gaza two years back have inevitably not been invited to meet Bush. The U.S. considers Hamas a terrorist organisation.
Hamas took control of Gaza by force from the Fatah party headed by Abbas in June last year, about a year and a half after it swept the polls in January 2006.
As Hamas leaders and supporters see it, Bush's talks with Abbas can count for little if they are kept out. And so with Abbas's talks with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert just ahead of Bush's visit.
George W Bush on Thursday cautioned Israel not to undermine the authorities and security forces of a fledgling Palestinian state, as he sought to reassure Palestinian leaders that the US will act as an even-handed mediator in the Arab-Israeli peace talks launched last year.
The Israeli prime minister, Ehud Olmert, last night refused to rule out further settlement building in East Jerusalem and parts of the West Bank, highlighting the deep gulf between Israel and the Palestinians that confronts George Bush on his first visit to Israel and the West Bank as president.
Against a backdrop of bristling security that accompanied the presidential visit, the Israeli prime minister said the US and the Palestinians knew there was an Israeli "moratorium" on new settlements and on the new expropriation of Palestinian land in the occupied territories.
The Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, declared last night that Israel reserved the right to expand existing Jewish settlements in Arab East Jerusalem and in parts of the West Bank that it hopes to retain in any final peace deal.
President Bush declared today that a Middle East peace treaty would be signed before he leaves the White House in January next year - but warned Israel against a "Swiss cheese" solution for the borders of an independent Palestinian state.
“I believe it’s possible - not only possible - I believe it’s going to happen, that there’ll be a signed peace treaty by the time I leave office. That’s what I believe," Mr Bush told a press conference in the West Bank city of Ramallah after meeting Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian President.
The scene shown Tuesday night on television was one of the most harsh and shameful seen here in recent times: a two-and-a-half-year-old boy, Ahmed Samut from Khan Yunis, and a nine-and-a-half-year-old girl, Sausan Jaafari, of Rafah, as they entered the Erez crossing alone, after being torn from the arms of their weeping parents.
The two children have heart conditions and need urgent surgery to save their lives. Wolfson Medical Center in Holon agreed to care for them, as part of their Save a Child's Heart program that saves the lives of children around the world.
U.S. President George W. Bush was not the bearer of big news for the Palestinian people when he spoke in Ramallah after meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday.
Apart from a broad presentation of his vision for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, Bush spoke inarticulately about his concerns over Israeli settlements, said his convoy managed to get through Israel Defense Forces checkpoints without delay and suggested the Palestinians abandon United Nations resolutions, because they were of no help to them in the past.
Tzipi Livni, as her name indicates, is the white bird of Israeli politics (Tzipi is short for Tzipora, “bird”, and Livni comes from Lavan, “white”). As against the hawk Binyamin Netanyahu, the vulture Ehud Barak and the raven Ehud Olmert, she was seen as the immaculate feathered friend.
In public opinion polls, she has enjoyed a remarkable popularity. She trumps all the other politicians in the governing coalition. While the rating of the two Ehuds — Olmert and Barak — was going down, hers was on the way up.
The objective of the US president is to rally the Arab neighbours of Iran against the latter's nuclear ambitions
These are not the best of times for George W. Bush. The unpopular US president, a lame duck to boot, should not even consider venturing abroad, certainly to areas such as the turbulent Middle East where America's image has hit rock bottom during his tenure.
The blame is attributed to his administration's policies which have wrecked havoc in the region and yielded little to brag about.
The U.S. expectations President Bush set out Thursday for negotiations and a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians, following two days of separate meetings with leaders on both sides:
_A peace agreement can and should be complete within the year.
_Bargaining must be serious, "starting right now." Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas should continue their regular summit meetings.
Recent months have witnessed several notable political reorientations in the Middle East, involving Iran, the Gulf states, Egypt and Lebanon. Several experts say the changes reflect a shift in Washington's regional strategy following recent U.S. policy setbacks.
US President George W. Bush on Thursday called for a compensation fund for Palestinian refugees as he set out what he said was the “point of departure” for negotiations on a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians this year.
At the end of two days of meetings in Jerusalem and the West Bank, Mr Bush sought to highlight his sympathy with the Palestinians more than on previous occasions and to dispel scepticism over the US’s readiness to lean on Israel.
GEORGE BUSH flew in to a fanfare of bugles and cynicism at the start of his tour of the Middle East this week. The cynicism, it must be said, is not misplaced. Although he said in Jerusalem that he detected “a new opportunity for peace”, he has waited too long to make his first visit as president to Israel and the Palestinian territories. Even if he did everything right in his final year, he does not have time to realise his “vision” of a free Palestine alongside an Israel at peace with its neighbours.
Links:
[1] http://www.americantaskforce.org/print/5868
[2] http://www.americantaskforce.org/printmail/5868
[3] http://www.americantaskforce.org/printpdf/5868
[4] http://www.americantaskforce.org/rss/wpr
[5] http://www.americantaskforce.org/world_press_roundup/20080110t000000
[6] http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/10/AR2008011000311_pf.html
[7] http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/10/AR2008011000811_pf.html
[8] http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0110/p01s07-wome.htm
[9] http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/20080110bushanalyis20080110.html
[10] http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=40740
[11] http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/49977b08-bf6c-11dc-8052-0000779fd2ac.html
[12] http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,,2238158,00.html
[13] http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/article3324448.ece
[14] http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article3164679.ece
[15] http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/943343.html
[16] http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/943593.html
[17] http://www.arabnews.com/?page=7&section=0&article=105489&d=10&m=1&y=2008
[18] http://www.gulfnews.com/opinion/columns/region/10180786.html
[19] http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080110/ap_on_re_us/bush_benchmarks_glance
[20] http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=40742
[21] http://www.economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10498483
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