THE CARROLL NEWS: Bush focuses on a Palestinian state

Bush focuses on a Palestinian state
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Bridget Lynch on 01 May, 2008 12:00:00
 
After meeting with Palestinian President Mahmaud Abbas last Thursday, President
George W.  Bush said he is confident that they can agree on the definition of a
Palestinian state before he leaves office in less than nine months.
“I assured the president that a Palestinian state is a high priority for
me and my administration, a viable state, a state that doesn’t look like
Swiss cheese, a state that provides hope,” said Bush after the two men met
at the White House to discuss Middle East peace efforts.
Speaking to reporters after their meeting, Bush said agreeing on the borders of
that state is going to be hard work, so he will return to the region next month
to meet again with Abbas.
White House officials say those talks will take place when Bush visits
Egypt’s Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheik for a meeting with Egyptian
President Hosni Mubarak.
Abbas said he is confident that under an Arab peace initiative, more than 57
Arab and Islamic countries will normalize relations with Israel once they
withdrawl from occupied Palestinian and other Arab territories.
The Palestinian leader said he has confidence in the president’s
commitment to a comprehensive peace deal before January.
“I cannot say that the road to peace is paved with flowers,” said
Abbas. “It is paved with obstacles. But together we will work very hard in
order to eliminate those obstacles and achieve peace.”
At the Annapolis, Md., peace conference in November, Bush, along with the
Palestinians and Israelis, pledged to make every effort to reach an agreement by
the end of 2008. U.S. officials have subsequently scaled back the language on
what they expect to achieve, speaking recently about finishing an outline rather
than reaching a peace agreement.
In addition to the final borders of a Palestinian state, Israeli and
Palestinian negotiators are divided over the fate of Jerusalem, new Israeli
settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and the right of Palestinian
refugees to return to their original homes. Israel said it will not accept a
Palestinian right of return to homes within pre-1967 Israel.
Abbas, who is struggling for authority in the West Bank against the militant
Hamas movement that controls the Gaza Strip, wants a framework peace agreement
by January with timetables and specifics leading to the creation of a
Palestinian state and not just a “declaration of principles” as
suggested by some Israeli officials.
The administration had been holding out hope that it could arrange a peace
summit during the president’s next Middle East trip, the idea being to
have Arab leaders endorse an interim statement demonstrating at least some
progress.
But there are doubts about such a meeting among both Arabs and the Israelis,
given the slow pace of negotiations, and the prospects for the summit are slim.