The Hindu : `Palestinians must elect new leader'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jun 26, 2002

International

International

`Palestinians must elect new leader'

By Sridhar Krishnaswami

New York JUNE 25. The U.S. President, George W. Bush, called on the Palestinian people to elect new leaders and sought an end to violence against Israel as pre-conditions for U.S. support for the creation of a Palestinian state.

"Peace requires a new and different Palestinian leadership so that a Palestinian state can be born. I call on the Palestinian people to elect new leaders, leaders not compromised by terror," Mr. Bush said in his long-awaited speech on a West Asia peace plan. "Today, Palestinian authorities are encouraging, not opposing, terrorism. This is unacceptable. And the United States will not support the establishment of a Palestinian state until its leaders engage in a sustained fight against the terrorists and dismantle their infrastructure," Mr. Bush said.

"And when Palestinian people have new leaders, new institutions and new security arrangements with their neighbours, the United States of America will support the creation of a Palestinian state whose borders and certain aspects of its sovereignty will be provisional until resolved as part of a final settlement in the Middle East. Today the elected Palestinian legislature has no authority, and power is concentrated in the hands of an unaccountable few. A Palestinian state can only serve its citizens with a new constitution which separates the powers of government," he said.

Though he expressed solidarity with the people of Israel, which has seen a wave of suicide attacks recently, Mr. Bush's speech held a message for the Jewish state as well. "Israel also has a large stake in the success of a democratic Palestine. Permanent occupation threatens Israel's identity and democracy. A stable, peaceful Palestinian state is necessary to achieve the security that Israel longs for. So I challenge Israel to take concrete steps to support the emergence of a viable, credible Palestinian state". He called on Israel to stop incursions into Palestinian areas, to freeze settlements, to restore freedom of movement when violence subsides and to release frozen Palestinian revenues into "honest, accountable hands." He also called for Israel's eventual withdrawal from the West Bank and Gaza Strip. "Ultimately Israelis and Palestinians must address the core issues that divide them if there is to be a real peace, resolving all claims and ending the conflict between them. This means that the Israeli occupation that began in 1967 will be ended through a settlement negotiated between the parties based on U.N. Resolutions 242 and 338 with Israeli withdrawal to secure and recognised borders," Mr. Bush said.

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