Jim Burns, CNSNews.com
Tuesday, June 25, 2002

"Peace requires a new and different Palestinian leadership, so that a Palestinian state can be born," Bush said. "I call on the Palestinian people to elect new leaders – leaders not compromised by terror."

Bush thinks the new Palestinian state should be built on "tolerance and liberty."

"If the Palestinian people actively pursue these goals," he said, "America and the world will actively support their efforts. If the Palestinians meet these goals, they will be able to reach agreement with Israel and Egypt and Jordan on security and other arrangements for independence."

Bush laid down the conditions of American support for a new Palestinian state, which he said include "new leaders, new institutions and new security arrangements with their neighbors." Once those conditions are met, he said, the U.S. "will support the creation of a Palestinian state."

"The Palestinian people are gifted and capable and I am confident they can achieve a new birth for their nation," said Bush.

"A Palestinian state will never be built by terror, it will be built through reform," he said. "True reform will require entirely new political and economic institutions based on democracy, market economics and action against terrorism."

Bush said a new Palestinian state must have a new constitution consisting of a new legislative body and not have power concentrated in the hands of a few. The president also vowed American support to monitor free and fair elections and aid in economic reform and development.

But having laid down the conditions for a new Palestinian state, Bush issued a challenge to Israel because they, too, have a large stake in the success of a democratic Palestine.

Good for Israel?

"A stable, peaceful Palestinian state is necessary to achieve the security that Israel longs for. So I challenge Israel to take concrete steps toward the emergence of a viable, credible Palestinian state," he said.

Israeli forces need to withdraw to the positions that they held prior to Sept. 28, 2000, the president said, and "Israeli settlement in the occupied territories must stop."

"Israel," Bush continued, "should release frozen Palestinian revenues into honest, accountable hands.

"This moment is both an opportunity and a test for all parties in the Middle East," he said. "An opportunity to lay the foundations for a future peace; a test to show who is serious about peace and who is not. The choice here is stark and simple. The time has arrived for everyone in this conflict to choose peace and hope and life."

House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., said "the president has struck the right balance with his proposal to bring peace to the Middle East."

"His call for a new Palestinian state that works to end corruption and stop terrorism makes sense. But the president also understands that creating such a state will require time and a new, democratically elected Palestinian leadership. Such a leadership must not condone or be associated with terrorists," Hastert said in a statement.

"Terrorism must never be rewarded. The president's proposal rewards those who believe in peace, freedom and democracy, not those who believe in death, destruction, and corruption.

"I hope the Palestinian people see the opportunities available in the president's vision. I hope they accept his premise that terrorism and corruption must end in order to achieve a lasting peace in the Middle East," Hastert concluded.

Copyright CNSNews.com

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