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Bush Challenges Arafat to Lead
CRAWFORD, Texas –– President Bush heralded "a hopeful day" in the Mideast after personally brokering an Israeli-Palestinian deal to end the siege of Yasser Arafat's compound, and demanded that Arafat redouble his efforts to end terrorism.
With Arafat to be freed from house arrest as part of the pact, Bush said, "Now is the time for him to step up."
"Chairman Arafat is now free to move around and free to lead, and we expect him to do so," Bush told reporters on his ranch here, after a weekend of quiet diplomacy led to his greatest accomplishment in trying to defuse the crisis. "One of the things he must do is condemn and thwart terrorist activities."
But with stalemates and a setback on other fronts, Bush cautioned: "Much hard work remains and this is a time for all of us to commit to fight terror and to promote peace in the Middle East."
Bush called Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on Saturday – three times, according to the Israeli government – and dispatched diplomats to negotiate directly with Arafat. Sharon will visit the White House the week of May 6, said White House spokesman Sean McCormack.
Bush won agreement on his proposal that U.S. and British nonmilitary personnel guard six Palestinians who are wanted by Israel on assassination charges and are being kept in Arafat's headquarters at Ramallah, besieged for a month.
In return, Israeli troops would withdraw from Ramallah and Arafat would be allowed to leave his compound and move freely in the Palestinian areas of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
Both sides approved the proposal on Sunday.
"This has been a hopeful day for the region, and we must continue to press forward to peace," Bush said.
Before dawn on Monday, however, dozens of Israeli tanks and armored vehicles began moving into the West Bank city of Hebron, witnesses reported.
The Israeli troops appeared to be concentrating on two specific areas, the witnesses said, and it was not immediately clear if the incursion marked a full-scale invasion of the Palestinian city.
Bush renewed his demand that all parties in the conflict – the Israelis, Palestinians and Arab neighbors – meet their "responsibilities" to help end the conflict, but imposed special demands on Arafat, who has been trapped inside his Ramallah compound for nearly a month.
Palestinian officials expect the siege imposed on Arafat's headquarters to be lifted Tuesday.
"Chairman Arafat should now seize this opportunity to act decisively in word and in deed against terror directed at Israeli citizens," Bush said. "He hasn't earned my respect. He must earn my respect by leading."
Bush said his door was open to world leaders who want to "bare their soul and discuss their plans for peace," but wouldn't extend the offer to Arafat.
Bush praised Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Abdullah, with whom the president met on his ranch Thursday, for presenting specific ideas on how to advance the peace process, and called to thank him before Abdullah left the country Sunday evening.
The president went out of his way to express sympathy for Palestinians living with Israeli occupations and military actions – a message the crown prince had delivered Thursday.
Bush renewed his promise to provide humanitarian assistance to Palestinians, and called on other nations to follow suit.
"My heart grieves for a people who have no hope, and there are a lot of people who have no hope in the Middle East," Bush said. "There are some Palestinians, a lot of Palestinians who wonder whether or not life is worth living."
Arafat accepted the U.S. plan on Ramallah after meeting with American and British diplomats later Sunday.
The White House did not disclose Bush's Saturday conversations with Sharon until Sunday, a decision White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said came from the president's preference for "quiet diplomacy."
"The president is more interested in action and diplomacy" and does not want to negotiate through the news media, Fleischer said.
Bush and Abdullah failed Thursday to resolve differences on the eight-point peace plan Abdullah brought to their five-hour talks.
In Houston, before Abdullah left for home, Prince Saud al-Faisal, the Saudi foreign minister, said the Saudi delegation was pleased to find Bush "fully engaged" in the Mideast.
He said Bush and Abdullah had agreed in their 10-minute phone conversation Sunday morning that the Ramallah agreement "would be the first step toward the political negotiation that would lead to a comprehensive and just peace in the area."
"We hope that all sides will see the wisdom and urgency of speedy movement toward peace," said al-Faisal.
Powell spoke three times over the weekend with al-Faisal, who in turn was in touch with Palestinian leaders on the Ramallah proposal.
Powell also talked to British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, European Union foreign policy and security chief Javier Solana and Spanish Foreign Minister Josep Pique, whose country holds the European Union presidency.
He also spoke with Arafat, according to Fleischer and Nabil Abu Rdeneh, a senior aide to Arafat who is with him inside his Ramallah headquarters.
Powell and Arafat discussed all of the efforts Americans, Europeans, Russians and others are making to find a breakthrough and, Abu Rdeneh said, both men stressed the importance of an immediate, comprehensive Israeli withdrawal from the Palestinian territories as being key to stability and security in the region.
Bush had little to say on Israel's decision Sunday not to allow a U.N. fact-finding team to visit the Jenin refugee camp to determine what happened during Israel's military assault there earlier this month. Arab nations have accused Israel of a massacre of civilians in the West Bank camp. "That's being worked out at the U.N.," Bush said.
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