New Palestinian PM May Meet With Bush

15/03/2003| IslamWeb

Once he is sworn in, the new Palestinian prime minister may be invited to the White House to meet with President Bush  as the administration accelerates its drive for a Middle East settlement and a Palestinian state. "I think there would be nothing better, at some point in time when it is appropriate, for a Palestinian prime minister to visit the White House," Condoleezza Rice , Bush's national security adviser, said Friday in an interview telecast to the Arab world.

After the appointment of Mahmoud Abbas, known also as Abu Mazen, as prime minister is confirmed, Bush plans to present Israel and the Palestinians with a "road map" for peace.

With his announcement Friday, Bush responded to European as well as Arab complaints of inaction.

He declared Israel could not have peace without accepting a Palestinian state on land held by Israel since the Six-Day War of 1967.

"There can be no peace for either side in the Middle East unless there is freedom for both," Bush said. "The time has come to move beyond entrenched positions and to take concrete actions to achieve peace."

From the outset, Bush has shunned Yasser Arafat , who has symbolized the Palestinian statehood movement for four decades, and never invited him to the White House. Last June, he demanded that a new Palestinian leader be elected and suggested that Arafat was involved in terrorism against Israel.

Even though Arafat remains at the head of the Palestinian Authority , the Bush administration considers Mazen's appointment a shift in authority, with the prime minister taking charge of security and negotiations.

Rice told Al-Jazeera, the Arab television network based in Qatar, that timing for Washington talks between the prime minister and Bush "will be important, and we will be in touch with them about this."

European leaders praised Bush's move. Palestinian officials said pressure on Israel was required, not further discussion the so-called "road map" to settlement.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair  linked the timing of Bush's White House announcement to the movement toward war with Iraq . German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, who is opposed to any war, lined up behind Bush and said his statement was "identical to the European and German position."

The French Foreign Ministry called Bush's initiative an important step that could resolve a conflict "in which two peoples are tearing each other apart." Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said Bush's plan "creates the preconditions for overcoming the current dead end in Middle East affairs."

Speaking in the Rose Garden, Bush said "once this road map is delivered, we will expect and welcome contributions from Israel and the Palestinians to this document that will advance true peace. We will urge them to discuss the road map with one another."

Elements of the Bush plan, known widely for nearly a year, would establish a Palestinian state before the end of 2005.
Sen. Tom Daschle, Democratic leader in the Senate, commended Bush "on his renewed effort to advance the cause of peace."

The South Dakotan said "the Palestinians' steps to reform and confront terror will be vital to making sure these talks get off to an early and strong start."

Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., said "the president understands there will be no stability in the Middle East until we get the peace process back on track."

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan  welcomed Bush's statement and urged that once the "road map" was presented, its implementation "be pursued with persistence and determination," U.N. spokesman Fred Eckhard said.

But Sam Husseini, of the Institute for Public Accuracy, said Bush was "basically pressuring the Palestinian parliament to rubber-stamp Arafat's choice for prime minister."

Husseini said Bush backs Israel "no matter what it does."

Morton Klein, president of the Zionist Organization of America, said Bush had taken a one-sided position against Israel.

Klein, in a statement, also accused Mazen of denying the extent of the Holocaust in a 1983 book and suggesting European Jewish leaders and the Nazis conspired during World War II to promote Zionism in the Middle East.

PHOTO CAPTION

Palestinian Prime Minister designate Mahmoud Abbas, widely known as Abu Mazen, center, flanked by the mayor of the West Bank town of Nablus Ghassan Al-Shaka'a, left, and executive council member of the PLO Ahmed Majdalani, right, during a meeting at Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat' s headquarters in the West Bank town of Ramallah late Friday March 14, 2003. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheise