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Olmert and Bush share a laugh. (White House photo by Eric Draper)
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| By Israel Insider staff June 19, 2007 |
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US President George W. Bush reaffirmed his elusive vision of a Palestinian state alongside Israel in a meeting with Israeli PM Ehud Olmert, saying he hoped to bolster Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas against Hamas Islamists who have seized control of Gaza.
Bush slammed Hamas' takeover of the Gaza Strip. "They made the choice of violence," he said, adding "Abbas is ... a reasonable voice amongst the extremists in your neighborhood."
Bush called Abbas "the president of all the Palestinians" and "a voice for moderation," adding: "Our hope is that President Abbas and Prime Minister Salaam Fayad -- who's a good fellow -- will be strengthened to the point where they can lead the Palestinians in a different direction," Bush said.
"We share a common vision of two states living side by side in peace," Bush said, pushing what he called a "common strategy to fight off" Islamic extremists in Gaza.
Olmert has said he was open to conciliatory moves toward Abbas. "I'm going to make every possible effort to cooperate with him," the prime minister said. "Like you, I want to strengthen the moderates," adding that it was vital to strengthen security for Israel.
But the prime minister outlined several conditions for progress toward peace, including "a much more responsive Palestinian government and increased security efforts."
The prime minister addressed the issue of the Gaza refugees seeking entry into Israel, and said Israel would examine every request on a case-by-case basis. "We will not be apathetic about what is happening," said Olmert.
The United States and European Union pledged on Monday to lift an economic and diplomatic embargo imposed on the Palestinians after Hamas won elections last year and rejected their calls to recognize Israel and renounce violence.
Abbas wants to begin peace talks as soon as possible, purportedly to show his people he can make progress toward their dream of statehood, which has been set back by the Hamas takeover of Gaza.
The Bush administration has signaled that it sees a "West Bank first" policy as the best way to salvage something from Hamas' victory in Gaza.
On the subject of Iran's nuclear challenge, Bush emphasized that nothing had been ruled out: "My position has not changed. All options are on the table. I would hope that we could solve this diplomatically," he replied.
Bush said it was essential that Iran faced "consequences" such as sanctions and other economic measures for defying the international community over its nuclear program. "There's a price to be paid," he said.
On the subject of Syria, the American president said Israel does not need his approval to launch negotiations with Damascus.
"If the prime minister wants to negotiate with Syria he doesn't need me to mediate ... it's up the prime minister," Bush said. "This man is plenty capable of having negotiations without me mediating."
Olmert, for his part, said conditions for negotiations with Syria are not right yet. "The Syrian leader said that he is against any precondition on the Israel side but he is certainly for preconditions on the Syrian side," he said. "I'm not certain that the understanding of the president of Syria can lay the foundations for immediate discussions."
Full Transcript of their public comments to the press from the White House.
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