WASHINGTON: President Bush said Saturday that the United States is “not ready to lay down a specific calendar” for political talks leading to a Palestinian state, and repeated his belief that the most urgent Mideast issue is the reform of existing Palestinian security and governmental institutions.
Bush, who addressed reporters with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak at Camp David after the two held talks there Friday night and Saturday morning, said early political negotiations were necessary, but that he had not yet determined whether conditions were right.
“Part of the consultation process that we are having is to determine what’s feasible in terms of that political dialogue, what’s feasible in terms of the timetable that a lot of people are anxious to talk about,” Bush said.
On Monday, Bush will continue his consultations in a White House meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. The Israelis have said negotiations are not feasible until the end of terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians.
Mubarak’s central message was that such violence would continue until Israel withdrew its troops from Palestinian territory, and a political process was launched to give Palestinians “tangible” hope for the future. “Now is the time to move to implement our common vision, in an effective and systematic way,” he told Bush.
The Mubarak and Sharon visits are the latest in several months of frenetic diplomatic activity that has brought rising expectations for a fundamental change of direction in the Mideast crisis. Most of those expectations have focused on Bush, who said Friday that he would soon reveal “how I think we should move forward.”
Bush jumped head-first into the conflict last November, when he became the first US president to publicly advocate the establishment of a Palestinian state. Hopes of real progress were raised in March, when 22 Arab nations agreed to a Saudi Arabian proposal that included recognition of the state of Israel and normalization of relations in exchange for Israeli acceptance of the state of Palestine.
But at the end of March, a wave of Palestinian suicide bombings brought a massive Israeli military response in the West Bank, leading Bush to declare “enough is enough.” In an April 4 speech, he demanded that all sides-Arabs, Yasser Arafat and the Israelis-take responsibility for stopping the carnage and start working toward his two-state vision.
Although the bombings and the Israeli military actions have continued since then, Bush’s prodding provoked a flood of proposals for a long-term solution whose authors are asking him to choose among them.
All parties agree that the Arafat-led Palestinian Authority must be rebuilt into a modern democratic state, with a unified security force, before it can fulfil the legitimate aspirations of its own people and be a trustworthy neighbour for Israel. Israel says the reformulation should include replacement of Arafat, and Bush, while saying Washington cannot choose a Palestinian leader, has tended to agree.
But on other points, Israeli and Arab views are mutually exclusive. Sidestepping the ultimate question of a Palestinian state, Sharon has called for a cease-fire, to be followed by an “interim period” of several years for determining the parameters of political talks.
The Arabs fear that Bush is on the verge of allowing Israel to insist reforms must be completed, and Arafat replaced, before the political process gets underway. They have called on him to push for Israeli troop withdrawal and an end to settlements in the occupied territories-demands he made April 4-with the same vigour with which he has criticized Arafat and reminded the Arabs of their responsibilities.
Most of all, the leaders of Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan, supported by a number of European nations, have asked Bush to impose a negotiating timeline, beginning with an international conference this summer, in which reforms and political talks would proceed simultaneously toward statehood.
Egyptian officials said after Saturday’s meetings that they had not expected Bush, prior to his talks with Sharon, to sign on. But at a news conference, held under a canopy of oak and walnut trees, Mubarak read a lengthy statement outlining his government’s views.
“Mr. President,” Mubarak read in Arabic from multi-page notes, as Bush tapped his feet and looked out into the woods, “Egypt and the Arab states have affirmed their condemnation and rejection of the use of force and violence against civilians. . .The United States has affirmed. . .its commitment to effectively play its role in its capacity as the main sponsor of the peace process. We look forward to a strong American engagement in the coming phase to implement this vision.”
Although aides characterized their private talks as warm and cordial, neither president attempted to hide their differences.
Asked by reporters if he agreed with Mubarak’s call for a deadline, Bush said: “Yes. Here’s the timetable I have in mind. We need to start immediately in building the institutions necessary for the emergence of a Palestinian state which. . .will give hope to the Palestinian people. . .and say to the world. . .there is a chance to live in peace, to defeat terror.”
“I also agree,” Bush said, “. . .that we’ve got to. . .have a political dialogue. . .We’re not ready to lay down a specific calendar, except for the fact we need to get started quickly, soon, so that we can seize the moment.”
On Arafat, Mubarak said, “Look, we should give this man a chance (to). . .prove that he is going to deliver or not. If he’s going to deliver, I think everybody will support him. If he’s not going to deliver, his people will tell him that.”
Bush responded that Mubarak’s was “an interesting point of view. I also happen to believe that there is plenty of talent amongst the Palestinians” that will emerge with reforms. “The issue is bigger than one person,” Bush said.—Dawn/LAT-WP News Service (c) The Washington Post