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Mussa Says U.S. Words Backing Palestinian State Not Enough
CAIRO, Oct 20 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Arab League Secretary General Amr Mussa said in a statement published Saturday that he did not regard the comments of U.S. President George W. Bush in favor of a Palestinian state as enough, in and of themselves, and called for him to translate words into actions.
"Statements are not enough. Practical steps are needed and we are now waiting for them to be carried out on the ground," Mussa told the Egyptian weekly paper,
Akhbar Al Yom.
"We are not prepared to lose ten more years in negotiations, we want concrete and decisive results as soon as possible," he said.
"We should draw lessons from the last peace process which started with an Intifada [1987] and ended with another Intifada [2000]. We do not want another peace process given over to the sending of envoys, photo calls and television appearances," Mussa said.
He hoped that the statements by the U.S. president "represent a genuine shift in position."
On October 11, Bush reiterated that he believed "there ought to be a Palestinian state, the boundaries of which will be negotiated by the parties, so long as the Palestinian state recognizes the right of Israel to exist, and will treat Israel with respect, and will be peaceful on her borders."
It was the second time in 10 days that Bush had spoken out in favor of a Palestinian state.
At the beginning of October, Mussa described the U.S. president's comments as "a step in the right direction."
While Palestinians cautiously welcomed Bush's support, Israelis criticized it, and the Egyptian government feared a replay of similar promises left unfulfilled after the Gulf War.
"The statement of President Bush will encourage, and it will help fulfill an atmosphere of security and safety in the region," Nabil Abu Rudeina, top aide to Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, told Agence France-Presse (AFP) earlier this month.
"Establishing a Palestinian state with a capital in holy Jerusalem is the way to bring security, peace and stability to the region," he said.
Abu Rudeina added that an end to Israel's closure of the Occupied Territories, implementation of the Mitchell plan and starting final status negotiations would "help promote stability in the entire world."
Contrary to feelings of relief among Palestinians, Israel bitterly warned that Bush's remarks might backfire.
Criticizing Bush's statement, Zalman Shoval, a spokesman for hardline Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, said that since Bush's Middle East peace initiative has been partly prompted by his desire to enlist Muslim and Arab states against Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden, whom Washington claims to be the prime suspect in the September 11th attacks on the U.S., Palestinians could wind up thanking the wanted Saudi.
"It could possibly be counter-productive in the long run, as the Palestinians could thank bin Laden for it," he told AFP.
The Egyptian government has welcomed support by Bush for a Palestinian state, but commentators feared the U.S. president's words were "too good to be true", AFP reported.
Recalling neglected commitments for a just Arab-Israeli peace made during the 1991 Gulf War, they speculated whether Washington would commit to the announcement, fearing the support for a Palestinian state may be a ploy merely to recruit Arab-backing in its "campaign against terror".
"We really hope that Bush's courageous step is a correction of U.S. policy aligned with Israel, and not a convenient move" to help Washington rally much needed Arab allies in its battle on terror, said Galal Dweidar, editor-in-chief of the government daily,
Al-Akhbar.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher welcomed it as opening the "way to peace negotiations" on the final status of the Palestinian territories.
But Dweidar said he hoped "Mr. Bush is serious" in his remarks and that they would not amount to promises that would evaporate when calm returns.
He called on the U.S. administration to "undertake the necessary steps for applying" the ideas expressed by Bush.
Makram Mohamed Ahmed, who is close to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and editor-in-chief of the government weekly
Al-Mussawar, said "the Arabs received similar promises during the Gulf War, which went away with the wind."
The U.S. government again promised a settlement of the Palestinian problem, when Maher led an Egyptian delegation to Washington earlier this month, he said.
Similar promises made during the Gulf War "were erased by the inhumane war…which Israel has fought in the past year, committing the vilest state terrorism without the [U.S.] 'sponsor' worrying about it," Ahmed said.
Egypt, and other Arab countries, joined the U.S.-led coalition that drove Iraqi occupation troops from Kuwait in 1991, in return for a U.S. promise to throw its full weight behind obtaining a settlement on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and of economic aid.
Peace negotiations based on U.N. land-for-peace resolutions were launched in Madrid later that year, but those talks derailed after the latest Palestinian uprising against illegal Israeli occupation erupted on September 28, 2000.
With promises unfulfilled a decade after the Gulf War, Egyptians are reviving criticism against their government for having sent troops to fight a war against Iraq, a fellow Arab country.
"Nobody can guarantee that the words heard by the Egyptian delegation will become reality, applied in a neutral and fair way, or that they amount to promises only to win backing for the fight against terrorism,"
Al Mussawar said.
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