The president, speaking in Salt Lake City, was referring to the disengagement plan which was carried out over the past week. Implementation of the plan has resulted in the destruction of 25 Jewish communities in Gaza and northern Samaria. Thousands of Jews have been made homeless by the plan. Many have lost their jobs, businesses, and livelihoods.
Bush said the expulsion was “courageous and painful,” calling it an “historic step that reflects the bold leadership of Prime Minister Sharon.
The president promised to provide $50 million in U.S. aid to Palestinians “for new housing and infrastructure projects in Gaza.”
Bush made no mention of providing assistance to the thousands of Jewish refugees who were made homeless as a result of the disengagement. Many of the homeless have also lost their livelihoods.
Declaring that “peace is within reach in the Middle East, Bush said that the United States was “working for a return to the Road Map.” Under the Road Map, Israel is obligated to provide the Palestinian Authority with a contiguous territory in Judea, Samaria, and Gaza for the establishment of an independent state.
According to many political analysts, the Road Map can be implemented only if Israel removes more Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria, in order to provide the PA with the territorial continuity envisioned under the road map.
Sharon, however, has said that the Bush Administration would not object to Israel retaining certain settlement blocs in Judea and Samaria. The issue of Israel retaining such blocs has been a source of contention between administration officials and the prime minister’s office. U.S. officials such as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her predecessor, Colin Powell, have denied that any guarantee was made to Israel regarding settlements in Judea and Samaria.
Sharon has claimed that U.S. guarantees allowing Israel to retain blocs of Jewish communities was an American quid pro quo for the disengagement plan.
Sharon has said that the withdrawal from Gaza and northern Samaria would not be followed by further disengagements from territory in Judea and Samaria. But senior government officials, among them Vice Prime Minister Ehud Olmert (Likud), have strongly hinted that the disengagement plan completed this week would be followed by the destruction of more Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria.
On the issue of terrorism, the president said the United States remained committed to fighting terrorism until it is defeated. “We will accept nothing less than total victory over the terrorists and their hateful ideology.”
Despite his firm rhetoric, Bush did not call on the Palestinian Authority to fight terrorism or disarm the terrorist factions operating from its territory, as required under the Road Map. He did mention, however, that the United States was helping “the Palestinians to prepare for self-government and to defeat terrorists who attack Israel, and terrorists who oppose the establishment of a peaceful Palestinian state.”
After saying that the United States remained committed to Israel’s “security and well being,” the president condemned terrorism in general. He said, “we demand an end to terrorism and violence in every form, because we know that progress toward peace depends on an end to terror.”
President Bush concluded his words on the Middle East by calling for the creation of a Palestinian state. “We'll continue working for the day when the map of the Middle East shows two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, living side-by-side in peace and security.”
Bush said the expulsion was “courageous and painful,” calling it an “historic step that reflects the bold leadership of Prime Minister Sharon.
The president promised to provide $50 million in U.S. aid to Palestinians “for new housing and infrastructure projects in Gaza.”
Bush made no mention of providing assistance to the thousands of Jewish refugees who were made homeless as a result of the disengagement. Many of the homeless have also lost their livelihoods.
Declaring that “peace is within reach in the Middle East, Bush said that the United States was “working for a return to the Road Map.” Under the Road Map, Israel is obligated to provide the Palestinian Authority with a contiguous territory in Judea, Samaria, and Gaza for the establishment of an independent state.
According to many political analysts, the Road Map can be implemented only if Israel removes more Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria, in order to provide the PA with the territorial continuity envisioned under the road map.
Sharon, however, has said that the Bush Administration would not object to Israel retaining certain settlement blocs in Judea and Samaria. The issue of Israel retaining such blocs has been a source of contention between administration officials and the prime minister’s office. U.S. officials such as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her predecessor, Colin Powell, have denied that any guarantee was made to Israel regarding settlements in Judea and Samaria.
Sharon has claimed that U.S. guarantees allowing Israel to retain blocs of Jewish communities was an American quid pro quo for the disengagement plan.
Sharon has said that the withdrawal from Gaza and northern Samaria would not be followed by further disengagements from territory in Judea and Samaria. But senior government officials, among them Vice Prime Minister Ehud Olmert (Likud), have strongly hinted that the disengagement plan completed this week would be followed by the destruction of more Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria.
On the issue of terrorism, the president said the United States remained committed to fighting terrorism until it is defeated. “We will accept nothing less than total victory over the terrorists and their hateful ideology.”
Despite his firm rhetoric, Bush did not call on the Palestinian Authority to fight terrorism or disarm the terrorist factions operating from its territory, as required under the Road Map. He did mention, however, that the United States was helping “the Palestinians to prepare for self-government and to defeat terrorists who attack Israel, and terrorists who oppose the establishment of a peaceful Palestinian state.”
After saying that the United States remained committed to Israel’s “security and well being,” the president condemned terrorism in general. He said, “we demand an end to terrorism and violence in every form, because we know that progress toward peace depends on an end to terror.”
President Bush concluded his words on the Middle East by calling for the creation of a Palestinian state. “We'll continue working for the day when the map of the Middle East shows two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, living side-by-side in peace and security.”