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In an interview with an Egyptian newspaper, Pres. Bush said issues of settlement blocs and Palestinian refugees would be resolved in negotiations.
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| By Ellis Shuman May 9, 2004 |
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"I think the timetable of 2005 [for the establishment of a Palestinian state] isn't as realistic as it was two years ago," U.S. President George W. Bush told the Egyptian newspaper Al Ahram in an interview published yesterday. Bush refused to address pledges he made to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon - on the issues of settlement blocs and Palestinian refugees - but said these issues would be resolved in negotiations between the sides.
Bush's interview with the Egyptian newspaper was part of the administration's attempts to show the Palestinians that the president remains committed to the establishment of a Palestinian state, as confirmed by his previous statements and detailed in his "road map" peace initiative. Bush gave a number of interviews to the Arab media last week in which he also expressed sorrow for reports of atrocities against Iraqi prisoners in Baghdad by Allied soldiers.
Bush blamed the delay in the "road map" timetable on the replacement of former Palestinian prime minister Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) and the continued violence in the area. Bush told Al Ahram that he was still committed to the "road map" and that he would be telling Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei (Abu Ala) in a letter that "it's now time to step up and show leadership against terrorists."
Following his meeting with Sharon in Washington last month, Bush stated that any peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians would have to take into consideration changing realities, including Israeli population centers (settlements).
On the issue of Palestinian refugees, Bush stated, "It seems clear that an agreed, just, fair and realistic framework for a solution to the Palestinian refugee issue as part of any final status agreement will need to be found through the establishment of a Palestinian state and the settling of Palestinian refugees there, rather than Israel."
Bush's statements, seen as a change of official American policy, came as an affront to Palestinians, who felt the U.S. was clearly siding with the Israelis on these issues. In attempts to soften these statements, Bush told Al Ahram that the issue of refugees was one to be resolved in final status negotiations between the two sides.
But Bush told the Egyptian paper that he stood behind the statements in his letter of understanding to Sharon with regard to U.S. recognition of large settlement blocs.
Bush intends to send a similar letter to Abu Ala, which will be delivered to the Palestinian prime minister in Germany next week when he meets with U.S. National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, media sources reported. The letter to the Palestinians will not include American "pledges," Maariv reported.
Palestinians: State in 2005 is realistic
In response to Bush's comments in Al Ahram, Abu-Ala said, "I think there is still plenty of time to hold negotiations from now until 2005. If we delay, it means we're giving in to the wishes of the Israeli government to stretch the process over another 10 or 15 years," he said.
"I hope that this is not final," Abu Ala added, saying that the remarks were "a contradiction to what President Bush declared."
Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat told reporters in Ramallah yesterday that creating a Palestinian state by next year "is more than realistic because, according to the signed agreements ... our state should have been declared by 1998 or 1999."
"President Bush's position removes any substance from the road map by calling into question the timetable for its implementation, which is an essential element of it," Palestinian Negotiations Minister Saeb Erekat said. "In this way, Bush is meeting the demands of Ariel Sharon. Sharon and Israel have always violated the rules of the game and obtained the backing of the Americans," he said.
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