"Am I therefore become your enemy,because I TELL YOU THE TRUTH...?"
(Galatians 4:16)

Bush: Palestine will emerge before I leave office

US President George W. Bush said Thursday he believes Israel and the Palestinian Arabs will sign a peace treaty enabling the creation of "Palestine" on the historical land of Israel by the end of his term in the White House, a year from now.The American was speaking at a press conference in the Palestinian-controlled town of Ramallah, north of Jerusalem, after meeting with PLO/PA chief Mahmoud Abbas.Bush is half-way through a three-day stop in Israel - on an eight day tour of the Middle East - the main purpose of which is to "nudge" Israel and the Palestinian Arabs into resuming negotiations he hopes will culminate in the creation of a new Arab state on the Jews' ancestral and biblical land.Peppering his speech with the phrase "I believe," Bush said he was convinced that it was possible that "Palestine will emerge" before he leaves office.His conviction was based on his belief in "the universality of freedom.""I believe deep in the soul of every man, woman and child on this earth is the desire to live in a free society," he said.His belief contrasts starkly with that of the Palestinian Arab in the street, the majority of whom are Muslim, and who have for years supported leaders pursuing a path of violence and intransigence.Another thing Bush said he "believe[s]" is that the "Palestinian security forces are improving."His "message to the Israelis is that they ought to help, not hinder, the modernization of the Palestinian security forces."For Israelis, who in the past few weeks have seen three Jews murdered in two terrorist attacks perpetrated by members of the self same PA "security services" Bush demands Israel cooperate with, this must have been a particularly galling thing to hear.Earlier, in his welcoming comments, Abbas told Bush the Palestinian Arabs "know that you are the first president guaranteeing our right to live in an independent state which will live in peace alongside its neighbors."Your visit is historic and gives our people real hope, continued the "terrorist in a tie" who has fought in the vanguard of the PLO since its earliest days.Another PA official identified only as "a senior Palestinian source" told the Israeli website YNetnews his people expected Bush to actively pressure Israel into stopping Jews from settling in Samaria and Judea - Israel's biblical heartland."We will make it clear to him that continued settlement activity and the continued construction of the fence will undermine the chances of reaching such agreement," he said even as he brushed aside the "Palestinian" obligation under the road map - ending terrorism against the Jews.The PA does not have an answer to the ongoing rocket fire from Gaza against Jewish communities in the Negev, he insisted."We expect that this will not become a major issue, because our situation on this issue and our limitations are clear," the source said."On the other hand," he glibly continued, "we expect the American president to assist us in creating a mechanism for implementing the understandings reached in Annapolis and the understandings to be reached in talks on a final-status agreement."Should the US fail to deliver, he warned "the Palestinian leadership will have to reconsider its moves in the domestic Palestinian arena, including the renewal of dialogue with Hamas."A British television reporter opined that "Bush must be tearing his hair out about Hamas," the Islamist group that seized control in the Gaza Strip from Abbas' Fatah faction last year and whose actions and positions more than anything else are frustrating his efforts on the Israeli-"Palestinian" track.According to the leftist Israeli daily Ha'aretz, some of the people who met the US president Wednesday said he appeared impatient and eager for achievements.They felt that "if the diplomatic process between Israel and the Palestinians hits an impasse due to domestic political problems in Israel and the PA, Bush would not hesitate to end his involvement in the process."
By Stan Goodenough

As in the days of Noah....