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Bush warned the Palestinians that supporting Hamas would "crush the possibility of a Palestinian state." |
WASHINGTON — US President George W. Bush called on Monday, July 16, for an international conference to revive Middle East peace and warned Palestinians that backing Hamas would "crush" their hopes for an independent state, drawing mixed Palestinian reactions.
"The world can do more to build the conditions for peace," Bush said in a televised White House speech, reported Agence France Presse (AFP).
He said Israel and the Palestinians and their Arab neighbors can do more to help revive Middle East peace prospects and called for an international conference within months.
Bush told Arab nations to end "the fiction that Israel does not exist," curb anti-Israel rhetoric in their media and send cabinet-level officials to the Jewish state.
"[Israelis] should be confident that the United States will never abandon its commitment to the security of Israel as a Jewish state and homeland for Jewish people."
The embattled US president warned the Palestinians that supporting Hamas, which assumed full control of the Gaza Strip last month, would "crush the possibility of a Palestinian state."
"Now comes a moment of choice. The alternatives before the Palestinian people are stark."
Bush announced a $190m (£95m) aid package for President Mahmoud Abbas's emergency government.
More US aid will come when former British prime minister Tony Blair, now the envoy for the Mideast Quartet reports success in building a plan for bolstering Palestinian security and political institutions.
Last month, the United States and EU lifted an embargo on direct aid to the Palestinian territories after Abbas sacked the Hamas-led unity government.
Mixed
Bush's plan won instant backing from Abbas and Israel but swift condemnation from Hamas.
"We welcome favorably the announcement by President Bush because such an international conference can allow the implementation of the roadmap and Arab peace initiatives," Abbas's spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina said.
"We hope that this conference will make it possible to fix a date for the creation of an independent Palestinian state, the sole way of ensuring safety and stability in the region," he added.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert also welcomed Bush's call.
His spokeswoman, Miri Eisin, said Bush's initiative "adds to the momentum" of bilateral talks already under way between Olmert and Abbas who met earlier in the day.
She said the proposed conference could be "an excellent umbrella to support the moderate Palestinians and to give a real push" to those bilateral talks.
Eisin added that Saudi Arabia and other Arab states that do not have diplomatic ties with Israel should take part in the conference.
But Hamas immediately denounced the American call.
"We condemn this American conference which aims to serve the interests of the Zionist enemy," spokesman Ismail Radwan told AFP.
"The conference will lead to increased pressure on Mahmud Abbas and separate the Gaza Strip more deeply from the West Bank while sowing division among Palestinians," he added.
Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal on Monday denied that Hamas has links with Al-Qaeda or wants an Islamic emirate in the Gaza Strip, and repeated calls for talks with Abbas.
"We don't want an Islamic or non-Islamic emirate. We told Arab countries that we want a Palestinian dialogue under Arab-Islamic auspices."
Meshaal also said talks with Fatah should cover rebuilding and reforming Palestinian security forces as well forming a national government that would govern in both the Gaza Strip and West Bank.
"I don't deny that mistakes were made but they were committed by individuals and don't represent our policy.
"We apologize to God before apologizing to our people."
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