Israelis and Palestinians yesterday welcomed US President George
W. Bush's proposal for a regional peace conference, but expressed
vastly different visions for what the gathering would produce.
Palestinian officials said they hoped the meeting would
jump-start peace talks aimed at creating an independent Palestinian
state. Israel said it is premature to talk about a final peace
settlement.
On Monday, Bush called for a peace conference in the fall aimed
at restarting peace talks between the two sides, calling it a
"moment of choice" in the Middle East. US officials expressed hope
that Arab countries, including moderate nations that do not have
diplomatic relations with Israel, would attend.
The exact date and location of the conference remains unknown,
as does its agenda and participants. Amid such uncertainty, Israeli
and Palestinian analysts were skeptical about whether the meeting
would accomplish anything concrete.
The gathering is aimed at giving an international boost of
support to moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, whose
forces were recently routed by the Hamas militant group in the Gaza
Strip. With international backing, Abbas now heads an emergency
government based in the West Bank. Hamas remains isolated in
Gaza.
Palestinian officials said Bush spoke to Abbas by telephone for
40 minutes on Monday to discuss the conference.
"We welcome this call, particularly in light of the
re-emphasized US commitment toward a meaningful peace process, that
leads to an end of the Israeli occupation and the establishment of
an independent Palestinian state," Palestinian Prime Minister Salam
Fayyad said in an interview. "The call for an international
conference to help in pushing this process forward."
In Israel's latest gesture to Abbas, a ministerial committee
yesterday approved plans for the release of 250 Palestinian
prisoners. The release is expected to take place on Friday. Israel
also recently has channeled more than US$100 million in frozen
Palestinian tax funds to Abbas and offered amnesty to dozens of
Fatah gunmen who renounced violence.
Miri Eisin, a spokeswoman for Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, also
welcomed the conference, saying it provided an opportunity to bring
together all those who are truly interested in peace in the Middle
East.
But she said it is too early to talk about full-fledged peace
talks as long as Palestinian violence against Israel continues. A
final settlement would require agreement on such contentious issues
as final borders, the fate of millions of Palestinian refugees and
the status of disputed Jerusalem.
"Israel has been very clear. We don't think at this stage you
can talk about final status issues, but such a meeting would
certainly add to the capability of arriving at the core issues,"
she said.
Still, she said, Israel thinks "the best solution for Israel is
Palestine. We need to have a two-state solution, not one state, or
Israel ruling over them."
Both Israel and the Palestinians said they have not yet received
key details about the conference but expect to learn more when US
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visits the region next
month.
Jacob Walles, the US consul-general in Jerusalem, met with Abbas
yesterday to discuss Bush's plans. "We discussed how we are going
to follow up on the speech. we are going to be working very hard,"
he said.
In Gaza, Hamas rejected the Bush proposal, calling it a
"crusade" against the Palestinian people. Isolated in Gaza, and
facing a crackdown in the West Bank, it remains unclear how or
whether Hamas would try to undermine the conference.
(China Daily via agencies July 18, 2007)
