Palestinians Give Washington's Latest Commitment to Mideast Peace A Cool Reception as Israel Kills 11 Palestinians in Less Than 24 Hours

15/03/2003| IslamWeb

US President George W. Bush's commitment to releasing the "roadmap" for peace when a viable Palestinian prime minister is confirmed is "not enough", Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's top adviser said."Bush has so far said nothing about the implementation of the roadmap. Anything short of that will not yield any results. It is not enough," Nabil Abu Rudeina said.

President Bush said on Friday he would unveil a long-delayed Middle East peace plan when a new Palestinian prime minister with "real authority" takes office, hoping to deflect Arab and European criticism of U.S. policy ahead of a possible war with Iraq

But the White House questioned the willingness of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat to relinquish authority over security and peace policy to the prime minister, as Bush has demanded.

Violence has surged, with the Palestinians accusing Israel of stepping up action against the 2-1/2-year-old Palestinian uprising for an independent state as the world focuses on Iraq. Israeli forces killed 10 militants within the last 24 hours.

A Hastily Arranged Bush Rose Garden Appearance

"The time has come to move beyond entrenched positions and to take concrete actions to achieve peace," Bush said in a hastily arranged appearance in the White House Rose Garden with Secretary of State Colin Powell.

Before announcing his plans for the so-called road map, with its goal of creating a Palestinian state by 2005, Bush consulted with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Jordanian King Abdullah and Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Abdullah.

As progress is made toward peace, Bush said Israeli settlement activity in the occupied territories "must end."

Washington has been under pressure from the other three members of the so-called Quartet of mediating powers -- Russia, the United Nations and the European Union) -- to release the road map amid charges Bush was too preoccupied with Iraq to work toward Middle East peace.

But analysts doubted Bush's overture would help sway Arab public opinion or boost U.S. chances for an Iraq war resolution in the U.N. Security Council.

Arafat Gets Telephone Call From Tony Blair

Arafat's Adviser Nabil Abu Rudeina meanwhile said Arafat received a telephone call from British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

"Blair confirmed that he would continue his efforts towards the roadmap and said all the measures concerning a Palestinian prime minister were a step in the right direction," Abu Rudeina told reporters in Ramallah Friday.

Only minutes after Bush's speech, Blair held a briefing at Downing Street during which he said likely Palestinian premier Mahmud Abbas could be in place as early s next week.

Palestinian President Yasser Arafat has named Mahmoud Abbas, widely known as Abu Mazen, to be prime minister, though he has yet to accept the post.

Last June Bush spelled out his vision of a Palestinian state with Arafat no longer at its helm.

Bush's national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, told al-Jazeera television that the new Palestinian prime minister could visit the White House "at some point in time when it is appropriate."

Arabs Receive the News with Deep Skepticism

But some Arabs and analysts of the Arab world treated U.S. and British promises with deep skepticism and said they doubted Arab public opinion would buy the idea that Bush would work now for an Israeli-Palestinian settlement.

"The skepticism (about Bush's commitment) is widely shared in the Arab world and in Europe. Let's hope it's not just another announcement cynically to gain support in Europe and the Middle East," said Edward Abington, a consultant to the Palestinian Authority and former U.S. diplomat in Jerusalem.

U.S. and British officials dismissed any suggestion that Bush's announcement was just a ploy before bombing Iraq.
Top Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat said all measures were being taken regarding the newly created post and in turn demanded that Washington provide a mechanism to guarantee the implementation of the internationally drafted roadmap.

"We carried out all procedures, political and legal, to define what authority the prime minister will have," he said.

Erakat stressed "what is wanted from the United States is to find a real mechanism to carry out the roadmap, impose it on Israel with a timetable and international observers."

"It's time to turn the political vision of Mr. Bush into reality on the ground," he added.

EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana welcomed the news. "I think that there are elements of the road map that can be put in place very rapidly," he told reporters in Athens.

PHOTO CAPTION

Arafat's Adviser, Nabil Abu Rudeina, seen here in this file picture, has said that US President George W. Bush's commitment to releasing the "roadmap" for peace when a viable Palestinian prime minister is confirmed is "not en