Bush Pitches Palestinian State
W A S H I N G T O N, June 24 -- In a long delayed address, President Bush called on Palestinians to elect a new leadership and Israel to begin a withdrawal from the occupied territories. Here is a transcript of his remarks from the White House.
For too long, the citizens of the Middle East have livedin the midst of death and fear. The hatred of a few holds the hopesof many hostage. The forces of extremism and terror are attempting tokill progress and peace by killing the innocent. And this casts adark shadow over an entire region.
For the sake of all humanity, things must change in the MiddleEast.
It is untenable for Israeli citizens to live in terror. It isuntenable for Palestinians to live in squalor and occupation. And thecurrent situation offers no prospect that life will improve. Israelicitizens will continue to be victimized by terrorists, and so Israelwill continue to defend herself, and the situation of the Palestinianpeople will grow more and more miserable.
My vision is two states, living side by side, in peace andsecurity. There is simply no way to achieve that peace until allparties fight terror.
Yet at this critical moment, if all parties will break with thepast and set out on a new path, we can overcome the darkness with thelight of hope.
Peace requires a new and different Palestinian leadership, sothat a Palestinian state can be born. I call on the Palestinianpeople to elect new leaders, leaders not compromised by terror.
I call upon them to build a practicing democracy based ontolerance and liberty.
If the Palestinian people actively pursue these goals, Americaand the world will actively support their efforts. If the Palestinianpeople meet these goals, they will be able to reach agreement withIsrael and Egypt and Jordan on security and other arrangements forindependence.
And when the Palestinian people have new leaders, newinstitutions and new security arrangements with their neighbors, theUnited States of America will support the creation of a Palestinianstate, whose borders and certain aspects of its sovereignty will beprovisional until resolved as part of a final settlement in the MiddleEast.
In the work ahead, we all have responsibilities. The Palestinianpeople are gifted and capable and I'm confident they can achieve a newbirth for their nation.
A Palestinian state will never be created by terror. It will bebuilt through reform. And reform must be more than cosmetic change ora veiled attempt to preserve the status quo. True reform will requireentirely new political and economic institutions based on democracy,market economics and action against terrorism.
Today the elected Palestinian legislature has no authority andpower is concentrated in the hands of an unaccountable few. APalestinian state can only serve its citizens with a new constitutionwhich separates the powers of government.
The Palestinian parliament should have the full authorityof a legislative body. Local officials and government ministers needauthority of their own and the independence to govern effectively.
