CAMP DAVID, Sept 18: US President George Bush urged Palestinians on Thursday to cast off Yasser Arafat, blaming him for “stalled” Middle East peace efforts and charging he had thwarted efforts to end violence.
“Mister Arafat has failed as a leader,” the US president said sternly during a joint press conference with Jordanian King Abdullah at the Camp David retreat.
“The people of the Palestinian territory must understand that, if they want peace, they must have leadership that is absolutely 100 per cent committed to fighting off terror,” he said.
Mr Bush praised former Palestinian prime minister Mahmoud Abbas, who resigned this month in a power struggle with Mr Arafat, for trying to consolidate Palestinian security forces and crack down on anti-Israeli militants.
“Prime Minister Abbas was undermined at all times by the old order. That meant Mr Arafat,” said the US president. “His efforts were undermined, and that’s why we are now stalled.”
Washington withheld the release of the roadmap, which calls for creating an independent Palestinian state by 2005, until Mr Abbas took office, and his departure was a blow to US diplomacy in the region.
“I remain committed, solidly committed to the vision of two states living side by side in peace and security. Yet that will only happen with new Palestinian leadership committed to fighting terror, not compromised by terror,” said Mr Bush.
White House national security adviser Condoleezza Rice said Washington was looking to work with a Palestinian leader “empowered” to quash hardline groups, but declined to say whether prime minister-designate Ahmed Qorei fit the bill.
“We don’t know,” she told reporters. “There is a lot going on in internal Palestinian politics to which we are not privy.”
“It will not be a good sign if power is pulling away from the Palestinian prime minister rather than toward the Palestinian prime minister. We don’t need a less-empowered prime minister than we had with Mahmoud Abbas,” she said.
Jordan’s King Abdullah praised Mr Bush’s “dedication” to Middle East peace efforts and said their talks at Camp David would focus on restoring momentum to the process, though he shied from suggesting specific steps.
“We’re talking now about the principle of getting the movement forward again, and Israelis and Palestinians engaging positively in the right direction,” said the king. “Unfortunately, there is a lull at the moment.”
Mr Bush praised Jordan for its efforts to starve violent anti-Israeli groups of support, adding: “Other leaders in the region must do the same. We must cut off money to terrorist organizations. We must work together.”
The president did not specifically address the Israeli cabinet’s controversial approval last week of a decision to “remove” Yasser Arafat in the wake of two suicide attacks.
But he said that “Israel has got responsibilities” to the peace process as well.
Mr Bush and his guest were expected to discuss Washington’s appeal for Jordan to reinstate a freeze on the assets of six leaders of the Hamas and five related charities, a US official said. —AFP