Bush Polishing Palestinian Proposal
Mon Jun 17, 5:17 PM ET
By BARRY SCHWEID, AP Diplomatic Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush ( news - web sites) on Monday put the finishing touches on a proposal for a provisional Palestinian state covering parts of the West Bank.
He intends to set out a sequence of steps that would require democratic reform within the Palestinian leadership in order to achieve statehood, said a senior U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
As Bush moved toward an announcement, expected soon, the State Department chided Israel for planning to extend an electronic fence the length of the West Bank as a shield against suicide bombers.
"To the extent that it is an attempt to establish a border, we would have to say that that really has to be done through direct talks" with Palestinian officials, spokesman Richard Boucher said.
"We do remind the Israelis that offering hope to Palestinians, offering them a decent life, an end to the barriers, is an important part of achieving security and peace," Boucher said.
The president's wife, Laura, chimed in with criticism of Israel's move. "I don't think that a fence will be some long-lasting sign of peace," she said.
"Right now, there's a huge barrier of hate and distrust between all the parties in the Middle East," Mrs. Bush said on American Urban Radio Networks. "I hope they can start to at least tear that barrier down."
However, Ephraim Sneh, Israel's transportation minister and a retired general, said the fence would serve a defensive purpose.
"The purpose is to make the penetration of suicide bombers to Israel impossible," he said at the National Press Club. Suicide bombers now cross easily into Israeli towns and villages, he said. "It's about to put an end to it," he said.
The White House sought to distance itself from Israel's decision to construct fences and take other measures to separate itself from Palestinians as a safeguard against terror attack.
"Israel has a right to defend itself," said White House spokesman Scott McClellan. "But all parties have to be aware of the consequences of their actions."
Bush's deliberations, after a weekend at his ranch in Crawford, Texas, follow a series of meetings with Arab and Israeli leaders.
On Friday, Yasser Arafat ( news - web sites)'s emissaries submitted an unofficial proposal for more formal statehood — and for withdrawal of Israel from all of the West Bank, Gaza and part of Jerusalem.
Given to Secretary of State Colin Powell ( news - web sites) on Friday by Nabil Shaath, a senior Arafat adviser, it appears unlikely to upset Bush's more limited proposal that is expected to set no deadline for an interim state but would freeze construction of Jewish homes in the territories.
Some of the president's advisers have suggested he set a timeline or a series of developments that would advance the right to a state Bush declared in early April.
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon ( news - web sites) has declared statehood premature, but Bush's proposal received approval in advance from Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres.
Evidently, Bush will not mention Jerusalem's future in his speech, thereby possibly skirting the most sensitive issue to Jews and Muslims.
On Monday, Bush again suspended building of a U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem. When he campaigned for president, he said he would move the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, thereby acknowledging Israel's claim that the city is its capital.
Progress toward a state larger than one on just part of the West Bank is likely to be dependent on democratic reform in the Palestinian Authority ( news - web sites), which Bush has demanded.
Because statehood would be provisional, some Arab leaders have expressed skepticism about the idea, insisting that normal statehood should be forthcoming promptly.
Arafat's proposal soft-pedals the explosive Palestinian refugee issues.
The Palestinian leader has insisted on a "right of return," which could relocate hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees in Israel and undercut Israel's Jewish character.
The revised proposal calls for a solution based on a U.N. resolution that says Palestinian refugees wishing to return to their homes should be able to do so. A specific "right of return" was not demanded, Palestinian sources said.
Former President Clinton ( news - web sites)'s drive for a settlement between Israel and the Palestinians foundered primarily on the refugee issue, with Arafat refusing to withdraw the demand.
Meanwhile, Bush's national security assistant, Condoleezza Rice ( news - web sites), told the San Jose Mercury News the Palestinian Authority "is corrupt and cavorts with terror."
The Authority "is not the basis for a Palestinian state moving forward," Rice said.
Arafat responded heatedly Monday, saying Rice has no right to dictate to Palestinians how their state should look.
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