US President George W. Bush reaffirmed his support for a Palestinian state before the UN on Saturday, without going into detail, as conflict continued in the Occupied Territories, said reports.
"We are working toward the day when two states - Israel and Palestine - live peacefully together within secure and recognized borders as called for by the Security Council resolutions," Bush told the opening of the UN's annual gathering, cited by Reuters.
"We will do all in our power to bring both parties back into negotiations. But peace will only come when all have sworn off forever incitement, violence and terror," the agency quoted Bush as saying.
However, the conflict rolled on even as Bush's comments hit the airwaves.
Israel on Saturday arrested 12 Palestinians suspected of involvement in the fatal shooting of a Jewish settler on Friday, said the BBC Online.
The suspects were seized in an overnight raid on a Palestinian-controlled village in the West Bank, and the Israeli army also bulldozed the house of a Palestinian man who was shot dead last month after he allegedly opened fire at a bus station, killing three Israelis, added the report.
According to news agencies, over 700 Palestinians and more than 190 Israelis have been killed in the latest Palestinian uprising against 34 years of Israeli military occupation.
BUSH MIDEAST MOVES PUT ARAB LEADERS ON GUARD
President Bush, who is determined to soothe Arab and Muslim states in order to consolidate his global anti-terror coalition, has nevertheless been tripped up by the Israel-Palestinian conflict.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, reaffirming his commitment to restarting stalled Middle East peace efforts, told a joint session of Parliament in Cairo that Israeli policies were undermining hopes for regional reconciliation, according to Reuters.
The need for a Middle East solution was echoed by South African President Thabo Mbeki, who according to the agency told the UN that "the sacrifice of the Palestinian people should not be allowed to drag on any longer."
Bush has refused to meet Palestinian President Yasser Arafat since taking office, but has met other Arab leaders and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
Arafat was present in the UN hall as Bush spoke on Saturday, but the two had no plans to meet.
US Secretary of State Colin Powell has hinted that Bush will meet Arafat, but only at the time the US deems appropriate.
Bush has faced criticism from ally Saudi Arabia, whose English-language Arab News deemed Bush's refusal to meet Arafat a "calculated snub," and said his stand on regional peace could sink the anti-terror coalition.
Arab leaders have accused the US of caving in to America's pro-Israel lobby, which according to Fortune magazine ranks among the five most powerful lobbying groups on Capitol Hill.
Israeli leaders, meanwhile, appeared to be divided over a new peace initiative by Foreign Minister Shimon Peres.
Israeli political sources said Peres was meeting late on Saturday with Sharon to discuss a new peace plan before leaving for the UN meeting, said Reuters.
However, Sharon is known to oppose several reported aspects of the proposal, including dismantling Jewish settlements in Gaza.
According to the UK-based magazine The Economist, Israel "flouted" the 1993 Oslo peace accords by settling thousands of its citizens on land seized from Palestinian owners in 1967.
Palestinians have said the Israeli peace initiatives are a ploy aimed at obstructing the launch of an international effort to resume deadlocked peace talks, and fear a plan for a dismembered, disarmed and economically dependent state similar to the Bantustans created in apartheid South Africa in the 1980s - Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
