Arabs hail US support for Palestinian state, Israel fears backfire
Arabs hail US support for Palestinian state, Israel fears backfire
Agencies JERUSALEM
United States President George W. Bush's endorsement of a Palestinian state Tuesday was welcomed by Arab countries, while Israel feared it might be perceived as a success for Osama bin Laden, the prime suspect in the Sept. 11 terror attacks.
Bush, under fire from Arab states for his hands-off approach to the year-long Palestinian uprising and under pressure to lure moderate Arab and Muslim states into a global alliance against terrorism, said that creating a Palestinian state has "always" been on the U.S. Middle East agenda.
Bush's endorsement of a Palestinian state was hailed by the Palestinians.
Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat welcomed on Wednesday U.S. President George W. Bush's endorsement of a Palestinian state, saying Palestinians wanted peace with the Israelis.
The Palestinian news agency WAFA quoted Arafat as saying, "I thank the United States for its position, which is the cornerstone for the establishment of a just and lasting peace in the Middle East."
He added that "the Palestinians remain committed to peace with the Israelis, which`is a strategic choice for them."
"The idea of a Palestinian state has always been part of a vision, so long as the right to Israel to exist is respected," Bush told reporters in the White House Tuesday.
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon had said on Sept. 23 that "Israel wants to give the Palestinians that which nobody has previously offered them -- not the Turks, nor the English, nor the Egyptians -- the chance to build their own state."
But his office gave a lukewarm reception to Bush's comments.
Sharon spokesman Zalman Shoval warned that the U.S. endorsement of a Palestinian state could be perceived as a success for bin Laden, whom Washington says it can prove was behind the onslaught which killed thousands in New York and Washington last month.
He said that since Bush's peace initiative has been partly prompted by his desire to enlist Muslim and Arab states against bin Laden, Palestinians could wind up thanking the wanted Islamic militant and Saudi dissident.
"Quite logically, the Palestinians could say 'Thank you bin Laden,'" for prompting Bush's backing of an independent state, Shoval told AFP, voicing fears that the U.S. president's remarks could therefore "be counter-productive in the long run."
For its part, the Arab League hailed the comments as a "step in the right direction".
"We welcome those developments, both the support by the United States of a viable Palestinian state, and the meetings that will take place between the president (Bush) and President Arafat," Arab League chief Amr Mussa told journalists.
Egypt also hailed Bush's comments, saying "this unequivocal declaration by the United States shows their determination to pursue active efforts for the implementation of the Mitchell report and is likely to open the way for final status negotiations."
Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher said he expected the declaration "to have active effects and Israel to halt its aggression against the Palestinians and choose the path which leads straight to peace, justice and security for all peoples in the region."
Expressing a similar view, Jordan welcomed Bush's backing for a Palestinian state as "a good position and big progress from America towards the Palestinian cause, and it corresponds with the discussions King Abdullah II had recently with President Bush."
Bush also said he stood firmly behind a roadmap to peace crafted by an international panel headed by former U.S. senator George Mitchell and said U.S. officials were "working diligently" to end the year-long intifada.
An anonymous Israeli official had earlier reacted to Bush's comments by saying that the setting up of a Palestinian state would "only be possible in the context of a comprehensive agreement to end the conflict between Israel and the Arab world."
He reiterated the Jewish state's view that the key question was whether Arafat was ready to put an end to a year of violence and return to the negotiating table.