Mideast Summit Opens New Chapter in Peace Process

05/06/2003| IslamWeb

Palestinian and Israeli leaders exchanged pledges to end violence and work for a Palestinian state at a summit with US President George W. Bush that opened a new chapter in the search for Middle East peace. With Bush making his initial foray into the volatile region, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and his Palestinian counterpart Mahmoud Abbas signed on to a US-sponsored "roadmap" for ending 32 months of bloodshed. But their talks in this picturesque Red Sea resort, followed by their reading of carefully crafted individual statements, also highlighted the obstacles in the way of a settlement to the conflict. Some Palestinian groups promptly vowed to continue the armed struggle against Israeli occupation after Abbas pledged to "demilitarize the intifada", and Jewish settlers said they would resist attempts by Israel to dismantle their West Bank outposts. Perhaps the most significant aspect was the personal involvement of Bush who, fresh from his military victory in Iraq, donned the role of peacemaker in a conflict he had avoided for much of his presidency. Bush said hopes for change in the Middle East had grown since the fall of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, and the summit here had made "important progress" towards resolving the Israeli-Palestinian quagmire. "The journey we are undertaking is difficult. But there is no other choice," he said, speaking in the gardens of Jordanian King Abdullah's summer villa with palm trees and the biblical Red Sea in the background. Sharon and Abbas both pledged to implement the roadmap drafted by the United States, Russia, United Nations and European Union, providing for a confidence-building measures to pave the way for a Palestinian state in 2005. Their statements, however, were long on hope but short on details. Abbas, in his maiden appearance as point man for the Palestinian movement dominated for three decades by Yasser Arafat, promised an aggressive effort to end bomb attacks. "Just as Israel must meet its responsibilities, we the Palestinians will fulfill our obligations for this endeavor to succeed. We are ready to do our part, and will immediately begin," he said. "We will exert our full efforts using all our resources to end the "militarization" of the intifada, and we will succeed," he said. "The armed Intifada must end, and we must resort to peaceful means in our quest to end the (Israeli) occupation." The hardline Sharon expressed his "strong support" for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and pledged to begin dismantling "illegal outposts" in the West Bank immediately. "It is in Israel's interests not to govern the Palestinian people but for the Palestinian people to govern themselves," Sharon said. "As all parties respect their obligations we will seek to improve the Palestinians' life and promote progress towards the Palestinian vision," the Israeli leader said. But he added, "There can be no peace, however, without the abandonment of violence," renewing the challenge to Abbas to rein in Islamic groups such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad. In his statement, Abbas stopped short of announcing an outright ceasefire, as advocated by the United States. Israel also doubted the value of such a move, saying it would only give the militants time to develop their networks. There was also little word on such fundamental issues as the status of Jerusalem, sacred to both sides, other Jewish settlements on the West Bank and the plight of Palestinian refugees seeking the right of return. But all sides sought to project a sense of renewed direction after the first major international gathering on the Middle East since they came close to an accord in the waning days of the US administration of Bill Clinton. Bush said that Washington would work to make sure both sides lived up to their commitments and he had asked Secretary of State Colin Powell and National Security Adviser Condoleeza Rice to monitor developments closely. The president announced he had appointed John Wolf, currently the assistant secretary of state for nonproliferation, to coordinate implementation of the peace road map. Wolf is a 33-year State Department veteran who has served in Australia, Vietnam, Greece and Pakistan and was ambassador to Malaysia from 1992 to 1995, but has little Middle East experience. **PHOTO CAPTION*** US President George W. Bush (C) with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon (R) and Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmud Abbas (L).(AFP/Stephen Jaffe)