A 2005 target for a Palestinian state was unrealistic but the United States was committed to a road map for peace backed by the international community, President George W. Bush said in an interview published yesterday. Bushâs comments in an Egyptian newspaper interview riled Palestinian leaders, who said the 2005 deadline was realistic if talks with Israel were accelerated.
| "We declare a Day of Seething!â¢" |
| How the hell is it "realistic," when all the Paleos have done is boom people? They haven't done a single thing that was required of them... |
Bush told the Al-Ahram daily: âI readily concede the date has slipped some. I think the timetable of 2005 is not as realistic as it was two years ago. Nevertheless, I do think we ought to push hard as fast as possible to get a state in place.â Bush told the daily that it âmay be hardâ to achieve the 2005 target due to Israeli-Palestinian violence and the collapse of Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbasâ reformist government last year. But he added the United States was committed to the road map and he would make this clear in a letter to Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qorei who replaced Abbas late last year. The road map charts reciprocal steps toward the establishment of a viable Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip in 2005, including demands the Palestinians halt violence and Israel freeze settlement construction. But the peace plan ground into deadlock shortly after it was adopted last year due to persistent violence and noncompliance on both sides.
| Did he just blame BOTH sides? That twitched the surprise meter. |
| This is from Arab News. I'm surprised they blamed both sides. Usually it's all the Zionists' fault for... ummm... getting their buses boomed. |
Rejecting Bushâs view, Palestinian President Yasser Arafat said the creation of a dictatorial fiefdom state by 2005 was âmore than realisticâ, while Qorei called for stepped up peace negotiations with Israel to meet next yearâs deadline. âLosing time does not serve the peace process nor the stability of this region. Therefore we think 2005 leaves adequate time for serious negotiations (for a state),â Qorei told reporters in the West Bank city of Ramallah.
| Sure, Qorei, step up and deliver. |
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