JERICHO (West Bank): - A senior Palestinian negotiator said on Tuesday that US President George W. Bush’s credibility would be on the line if he failed to make good on his vision of a Palestinian state.
Bush, speaking before the United Nations General Assembly on Saturday, reaffirmed his support for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and pledged to assist in reviving the peace process.
“It’s very important for this to be transferred from a vision to a political track,” Palestinian cabinet minister Saeb Erekat said in an interview in his office in the West Bank town of Jericho.
“What Mr. Bush said is significant, but in my opinion that puts President Bush’s credibility on the line if he doesn’t follow up on this,” he said.
Bush is pressuring both sides to calm the Middle East conflict in an effort to shore up Arab support for the US-led military campaign against Afghanistan following the September 11 suicide-hijack attacks on Washington and New York.
Palestinian President Yasser Arafat has welcomed Bush’s support for Palestinian statehood and has called for US mediation to turn that vision into a reality.
Erekat said that US Secretary of State Colin Powell had promised to take steps very soon aimed at reviving peace moves and making progress toward the creation of an independent Palestinian state.
He said that Powell made the pledge to Arafat during talks last week on the margins of the United Nations meeting in New York.
Erekat said that Powell told Palestinian leaders the United States was willing to deploy monitors to oversee implementation of US-brokered accords to end 13 months of violence and pave the way for the resumption of peace talks.
Israeli government spokesman Avi Pazner said that he was not aware that idea had been raised but reaffirmed that Israel would have no objection if “the CIA, stationed here, would take a more expanded role in overseeing the ceasefire”.
Arafat has repeatedly called for international observers in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, but Israeli has refused saying they would not be neutral and side with the Palestinians.
Bush told the opening of the General Assembly: “We are working toward the day when two states — Israel and Palestine — live peacefully together within secure and recognised borders”.
He pledged to assist peace efforts but offered no new ideas on how the United States would help end the violence.
Erekat, who took part in the meeting between Powell and Arafat, said Bush’s intention was “to forecast a political horizon for the peace process, to show an end game”.
He said that Powell had instructions from Bush to follow up on the president’s comments about Palestinian statehood.
“Powell will be introducing very soon a comprehensive American statement on what should happen and the American vision of peace in the region,” he said.
But Erekat said that Powell did not specify what steps Washington would take nor set a timetable.—Reuters