WASHINGTON — President Bush told the leaders of Israel and the Palestinian territories on Wednesday he is personally committed to their mission of peace, urging them to stick with it and not lose sight of their goal.
Bush met separately with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert at the White House, and then with the two men jointly before the trio emerged for a presidential sendoff from the Rose Garden. The stagecraft capped three days of U.S.-sponsored diplomacy centered on an international Mideast peace conference held Tuesday in Annapolis, Md.
“No matter how important yesterday was, it’s not nearly as important as tomorrow and the days beyond,” Bush said, with Olmert on one side and Abbas on the other.
“I wouldn’t be standing here if I didn’t believe that peace was possible,” the president said.
The Bush administration pronounced itself pleased with the outcome of the conference. It drew 44 nations, including Israel’s neighboring Arab states, whose support is considered vital to any peace agreement. A joint understanding between the Israelis and Palestinians, in doubt until the last minute, was salvaged. And Abbas and Olmert reiterated their desire to reach a peace settlement by the end of next year.
Abbas, speaking after the White House sendoff, said Bush seemed determined to reach a peace treaty during his term.
“We found him zealous in that direction,” he said.
Abbas also said that while the agreement to resume talks was only the beginning of the process, the Palestinians “achieved what we came here for. We came here to start negotiations, and we got that.”
Abbas was asked whether he found Israel to be a serious peace partner. He laughed and said: “I am not going to judge their intentions. We say that we have a partner and we are ready to work with this partner to reach this treaty.”
Olmert, for his part, reiterated that a peace deal could not be implemented until the violence against Israel from Gaza stops. A deal, he said, won’t be implemented until conditions crucial to Israel are met.
Underscoring the importance of security, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice selected James Jones, a retired Marine Corps general and a former NATO commander, to serve as a special envoy for Middle East security, moving quickly to maintain momentum coming out of Annapolis.
The job involves monitoring the development of Palestinian security services, said State Department spokesman Sean McCormack. One focus would be how those forces interact with neighboring security services, including Israeli authorities.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
