Bush: The Wall Is An Obstacle To Building Trust

Washington-Saida Hamad and Salameh Nematt     Al-Hayat     2003/07/26

In a step to support the Palestinian PM Mahmoud Abbas (aka Abu Mazen) and to stress the U.S.'s commitment to the Roadmap, President George W. Bush, after receiving Abbas at the White House for the first time yesterday, described the "security wall" Israel is building as a "problem" because, "it is so difficult to build the trust between Palestinians and Israelis with a wall that encircles the West Bank." He reiterated his call to stop settlement activities declaring the creation of an American-Palestinian joint economic group for the development of Palestine.

Bush welcomed the steps Israel declared yesterday to boost the peace process that comprise releasing hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, the withdrawal from two new Palestinian cities in the West Bank, the removal of some military barracks, transferring six million dollars to the Palestinian Authority and granting licenses to work inside Israel for nine thousand Palestinians. Bush pointed out that the ongoing discussions regarding releasing Palestinian prisoners, is one of Abbas' essential claims. However, he considered as unlikely to ask Israel to release prisoners "that will perpetrate terrorist actions." He added: we should discuss the prisoners' issue each case separately. Of course, no one wants to release a criminal from prison to contribute in dismantling the process. We will keep on discussing this issue with both sides."

Bush linked any potential progress or pressure his administration could exert on the Israeli government "to stopping and fighting terrorism," which left a pessimistic impression on the Palestinian delegation. A high-ranking Palestinian source described the stance as "worrying and very dangerous, as well as being an indicator of Bush adopting the Israeli vision."

Sources in Washington expected that Bush would ask Israeli Pime Minister Ariel Sharon during their talks in the White House tomorrow to reconsider the wall because it is not in conformity with resolution 242 in the Roadmap. These sources told Al Hayat that Israel has the right to protect itself from suicide attacks, but building a wall inside the occupied Palestinian territories of 1967 creates a reality that might undermine the opportunities to reach a final settlement."

On the other hand, Bush declared that he will send at the beginning of the fall the Secretary of the Treasury John Snow and the Secretary of Trade Don Evans to the region in order to conduct a study on "the measures to be undertaken in order to establish solid economic institutions for a free and sovereign Palestinian state."

Al Hayat discovered that Abbas called the family of the child that was killed by the Israelis in a village near Jenin and he told his story. He told Bush: "I talked to the victim's family on the phone and I hope I will not have to do this again in the future and that you will deploy all the possible efforts to stop the Israeli military actions in the Palestinian territories."

Abbas stressed the "political importance" of releasing the prisoners and called to remove the wall and take additional measures to implement the Roadmap.      

The Palestinian Minister of Finance, Salam Fayad, was part in the meeting between Bush and Abbas. It was noticed that the American president praised the Palestinian premier and discussed "building the trust" with the "the good man" that "shares with him the objective of realizing the peace." Bush also praised the members of the Palestinian government, especially Fayad and the Minister of Security Affairs, Mohamad Dahlan