Bush Says Arafat Should to Do More to Stop Violence (Update1)
By Heidi Przybyla
Meridian, Texas, Aug. 13 (Bloomberg) -- President George W. Bush said Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat should do more to stop terrorism in the Middle East in the aftermath of two suicide bombings in Israel.
``I think he can do a lot more to be convincing the people on the street to stop these acts of terrorism and violence,'' Bush told reporters at the Bosque Valley Country Club, where the president has played golf during his month-long Texas vacation. He called the attacks ``despicable.''
``We recognize there could be isolated incidents of terror, but these aren't isolated,'' Bush said. ``This is a continuing terrorist campaign, and we've got to stop.''
The violence has derailed a cease-fire the U.S. brokered at the beginning of June. That agreement called for a week of quiet to be followed by confidence-building measures as part of a plan to restart peace negotiations.
Islamic Jihad, a militant Palestinian group, claimed responsibility for yesterday's explosion at a cafe in suburb of the port city of Haifa. About 20 people were injured. In a similar attack three days earlier in a Jerusalem pizza parlor, a suicide bomber killed himself and 15 others.
Finger-Pointing
Israel retaliated for the pizzeria bombing by closing Orient House, headquarters of the Palestine Liberation Organization in east Jerusalem. That move angered Palestinians, and countries including the U.S., Israel's closest ally, protested to the government of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
Palestinians closed shops and government offices today to protest the Orient House takeover, the Associated Press reported. Outside the building, Israeli police scuffled with demonstrators, the AP said.
Bush said the Israelis ``do show moderate restraint. Sometimes they haven't and sometimes they have.'' Bush called on European and moderate Arab nations to ``send a consistent message that there will be no peace unless we break this cycle of violence.''
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is sending top diplomats to Washington in the next two days to discuss the violence, Agence France Presse reported from Cairo today. The delegation will include Mubarak's chief adviser Osama al-Baz, AFP said, citing the official MENA news agency. Egypt has been urging the U.S. to step up its efforts to end the violence.
U.S. Engagement
Bush defended his administration's efforts to resolve the conflict. ``The United States is doing everything in our power to convince the parties'' to end the violence, he said. ``But I want to remind people there must be the will. The people in the area must make the conscious decision to stop terrorism.''
Bush said his administration has ``been engaged in the Middle East ever since I got sworn in'' on Jan. 20.
``We have been on a nearly daily basis talking with the parties,'' Bush said.
Bush said Secretary of State Colin Powell has been in touch with Arafat and Sharon. The president said he personally hasn't made calls in the last few days.
``We've got a long way to go,'' he said. ``I recognize that.'' |
