Speaking
on Thursday after talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at the
White House, Bush said the Palestinian Authority must reject and fight
terrorism for the Middle East peace process to be able to move forwards.
He said the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and parts of
the West Bank had created new opportunities and responsibilities for
the Palestinians.
"The way forward must begin by confronting the threat
that armed gangs pose to a genuinely democratic Palestine," Bush said.
"In the short term the Palestinian Authority must ... earn the
confidence of its neighbours by rejecting and fighting terrorism," Bush
said.
For his part, Abbas, after talks with Bush, urged Israel to join the Palestinians in "a real partnership for making peace".
Real partnership
"We are presenting, based on wide public support, our
positions that call upon the Israeli side to join us in a real
partnership for making peace," Abbas said through an interpreter during
a joint appearance at the White House.
Bush said he was not sure that a Palestinian state would exist by the time he leaves office in January 2009.
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Bush said Abbas (L) was a man
devoted to Palestinian statehood |
"I
believe that two democratic states living side by side in peace is
possible. I can't tell you when it's going to happen. It's happening,"
Bush said.
"If it happens before I get out of office, I'll be
there to witness the ceremony. If it doesn't, we will work hard to lay
that foundation so that the process becomes irreversible," Bush said.
Bush heaped praise on Abbas and said prospects for Palestinians gaining a state seem better than ever before.
"President Abbas is a man devoted to peace and to his
people's aspiration for a state of their own," Bush said. "And today,
the Palestinian people are closer to realising their aspirations."
Supporting Abbas, Bush called on Israel to stop
constructing settlements on the West Bank. He assured Abbas he shared
his vision of two states living side by side in peace and security.
Message to Israel
"Israel should not undertake any activity that
contravenes its roadmap obligations," Bush said, referring to a
blueprint for peacemaking approved by the US, the UN, the European
Union and Russia.
Without elaboration, the president said Israel would
be "held to account" for any actions that hamper peacemaking or burden
the lives of Palestinians.
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"We are
presenting, based on wide public support, our positions that call upon
the Israeli side to join us in a real partnership for making peace"
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas |
But
Bush said he was a "heck of a lot more confident" of peace prospects
than when he first took office five years ago. Both Abbas and Israeli
Prime minister Ariel Sharon are committed to making peace, he said.
Abbas,
in response, insisted that Israel lift curbs on Palestinian travel in
the West Bank, saying the restrictions had caused the Palestinians
"hardship and humiliation".
The Palestinian leader also
criticised Israel's security wall, particularly its location in
Jerusalem, where the Palestinians intended to establish the capital of
their state.
He assured Bush that election of a Palestinian legislature in January would establish one law to govern the area.
Abbas also levelled demands on Israel.
He said Palestinians must be able to cross from Gaza,
which they took over after Israel's withdrawal last month, and the West
Bank, and roadblocks must be removed, settlement construction halted
and construction of a security wall suspended.
Humiliation
Abbas said the roadblocks, imposed in by Israel in
response to deadly attacks, "unfortunately turned the lives of
Palestinians into hardship, suffering, humiliation" and is "a very
sensitive issue".
Bush also said he would ask the other members of the
international peace quartet to extend the term of special envoy James
Wolfensohn, the former World Bank president. He also said he would soon
name a replacement for Lieutenant-General William Ward as security
envoy for the region.
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Palestinians near Bethlehem pick
their way through a roadblock |