USA: U.S. President George W. Bush launches a drive to create a Palestinian state

U.S. President George W. Bush launches a drive to create a Palestinian state, with Israelis and Palestinians nearing an agreement to address the toughest issues of their decades-old conflict. President George W. Bush launched a U.S. drive to create a Palestinian state on Monday (November 26), with Israelis and Palestinians nearing an agreement to address the toughest issues of their decades-old conflict. His legacy dominated by war in Iraq -- and 14 months before leaving office -- Bush began three intense days of Middle East diplomacy in separate Oval Office meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. "We've come together this week because we share a common goal -- two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security," Bush said at a State Department dinner for participants in Tuesday's international conference near Washington. "Achieving this goal requires difficult compromises," he insisted. The talks could jumpstart a long-dormant peace process, but no one predicts a swift breakthrough in a conflict that has outlasted many a U.S. president and Middle Eastern leader. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, putting her credibility on the line, assembled representatives from more than 40 countries, many driven by a desire to prevent Iran from becoming a dominant -- and nuclear -- Middle East power. Joining the talks were Syria, a frontline state formally at war with Israel, and Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal, who said Washington had made clear it would "use its full influence" to ultimately bring about a peace agreement. Participants will gather on Tuesday (November 27) at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, for a largely symbolic one-day meeting to launch negotiations between Olmert and Abbas, both politically weakened at home. Despite long-standing frictions, Israeli and Palestinian officials said they were close to agreement on a document that would outline the peace goals to follow this week's sessions. Abbas aide Yasser Abed Rabbo said a united Arab position had been reached but the draft resolution was still under discussion. "I think we have a united position; a united Arab position, based on the Arab Peace Initiative. The draft resolution is something else. It's under discussion now. I'm always positive." The document will chart the course for negotiating the toughest issues of the conflict known as "final-status issues" -- Jerusalem, borders, security and Palestinian refugees. The talks could jumpstart a long-dormant peace process, but no one predicts a swift breakthrough in a conflict that has outlasted many a U.S. president and Middle Eastern leader. Washington says the hard work will begin only after this week, when Israelis and Palestinians must tackle the issues at the core of the conflict. "We want to leave Annapolis with an energised process, with a peace process that's back on track, with a new momentum," said Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev. "Now, I have no illusions; there are difficult issues on the table. There will be problems, there'll be bumps in the road, there'll be crises. But I think if both of us -- Israel and the Palestinians -- if we act in a responsible way, if we keep at it, if we make sure that our commitment to peace is translated on the ground through action, we can have real movement." Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, putting her credibility on the line, assembled representatives from more than 40 countries, many driven by a desire to prevent Iran from becoming a dominant -- and nuclear -- Middle East power. Joining the talks were Syria, a frontline state formally at war with Israel, and Egypt's Foreign Minister Ahmed Abu Ghaith. "I think at the end of the day, I think there will be an agreement to launch negotiations to launch negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians the following day," said Ghaith.

ITN Source | November 27, 2007

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