Bush: Time for Mideast Peace Is Now
Joint Understanding is Reached at Annapolis
The time has come for a Palestinian state and peace in the Middle East, but Israelis and Palestinians will need international help, President Bush told representatives from nearly 50 countries and international organizations at a one-day conference at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.
"The time is right. The cause is just. And with hard effort, I know they can succeed," Bush said November 27, following a joint meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
Following their meeting with Bush, Israeli and Palestinian leaders issued a "joint understanding" to restart continuous talks until outstanding issues are resolved, which they say could result in a peace treaty as early as the end of 2008.
"Today, Palestinians and Israelis each understand that helping the other to realize their aspirations is the key to realizing their own," Bush said, and success will require the creation of an independent, democratic Palestine, the centerpiece of Bush's proposal for a "two-state solution."
A Palestinian-Israeli steering committee overseeing the negotiations will hold its first meeting on December 12, to be followed by a December 17 donors’ conference in Paris hosted by the Quartet for Middle East Peace -– the United Nations, the European Union, Russia and the United States.
"Our job is to encourage the parties in this effort -– and to give them the support they need to succeed," Bush said, calling on conference participants, particularly the 16 Arab states attending the conference, to support Abbas' and Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad's leadership as they work to build the institutions of a future Palestinian state.
Abbas and Olmert also pledged to implement their obligations under the Quartet’s "road map" -– a comprehensive plan to resolve political, economic, security and humanitarian issues to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with the United States acting as "monitor and judge" as both sides implement the agreement.
Bush praised both leaders, saying their shared belief in the necessity of peace made the Annapolis conference possible.
The international community’s participation at Annapolis, Bush added, shows not only its support for peace, but also concern about rising extremism across the region.
"The extremists are seeking to impose a dark vision on the Palestinian people, a vision that feeds on hopelessness and despair to sow chaos in the Holy Land," Bush said. "If this vision prevails, the future of the region will be endless terror, endless war and endless suffering."
Bush pledged to support Israeli-Palestinian efforts during his remaining months in office, and urged patience and flexibility on the part of negotiators, calling on Palestinian leaders to confront corruption and dismantle terrorist networks operating within its borders and on Israelis to reach a negotiated settlement, remove unauthorized outposts, end settlement expansion and support the growth of a new Palestinian state.
"The outcome of the negotiations they launch here depends on the Israelis and Palestinians themselves," Bush said.
Abbas and Olmert, both pledged to work towards peace.
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