US President George W. Bush said Tuesday that Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat has "clearly disappointed" him, and that sweeping Palestinian reforms are "step one" down the path to Middle East peace.
"I think peace is possible. It's going to take a while, it's going to take a lot of work," he said one day before heading on a week-long trip to Europe that will include Germany, Russia, France and Italy.
"That starts with a security apparatus that actually functions for the benefit of the Palestinian people, by fighting off terror, by rejecting extremism," he told a roundtable of European reporters. A unified security force, "in which authority and responsibility are properly aligned," would prove that the Palestinians are making "a concerted effort to fight terror," he emphasized. "That's step one."
"There's money willing to be spent," Bush said. "I've committed to it. But I'm not committed to sending money in a place until I'm convinced it's going to be spent to help the Palestinian people."
Bush added the Palestinian leader had squandered "chance after chance" for a peace deal that could pave the way for Bush's vision of a Palestinian state living in peace with Israel.
"And so I am clearly disappointed. Somebody said, 'has he earned your respect?' I said, 'he never had my respect, because he has let his people down.' The role of a leader is to lead," the president said.
"I say that with a lot of angst in my heart, because I am concerned about the plight of the Palestinian citizenry, poor and isolated and frustrated. Many live in refugee camps, and have for years," said Bush. "I realize in many of their hearts, there's little hope."
The president said progress requires "a commitment for the United States to continue to lead on the issue, and we will; a commitment by the Israelis to make the tough choices necessary for the Palestinian state to exist; the commitment by the Palestinians to renounce and fight terror."
It will also require "the commitment by the Arab world to become engaged not only in the humanitarian aspects of the region, but to be a part of the building of the institutions necessary for a Palestinian state to exist," he said. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
