Image Credit: White House photo by Chris Greenberg 2008-01-10.
Secretary Rice Calls Jerusalem Housing Development Har Homa a "Settlement"
BBSNews 2008-01-10 -- President Bush on the second day of his Mid East visit said in Ramallah to Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas at a press conference "look, the U.N. deal didn't work in the past." A reporter had asked a central question directly bearing on the core issue of the Israeli Palestinian crisis, what about the UN resolutions?
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President George W. Bush and President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority, listen to a reporter's question Thursday, Jan. 10, 2008, during a joint press availability at in Ramallah.
Image Credit: White House photo by Chris Greenberg 2008-01-10. |
"Mr. President George Bush -- you launched war against Iraq after the Iraqi leadership refused to implement the United Nations resolutions. My question now is, what is the problem to ask Israel just to accept and to respect the United Nations resolutions relating to the Palestinian problem, which -- facilitating the achievement of ending the Israeli occupation to the Arab territories and facilitating also the solution between Palestinians and the Israelis?"
President Bush responded with a politician's answer at best and what could be considered as a diplomatic gaff of rather large proportions at worst by answering:
"Actually, I'm asking Israel to negotiate in good faith with an elected leader of the Palestinian Territory to come up with a permanent solution that -- look, the U.N. deal didn't work in the past. And so now we're going to have an opportunity to redefine the future by having a state negotiated between an elected leader of the Palestinian people, as well as the Prime Minister of Israel. This is an opportunity to move forward. And the only way for -- the only way to defeat the terrorists in the long run is to offer an alternative vision that is more hopeful. And that's what we're attempting to do, sir.We can stay stuck in the past, which will yield nothing good for the Palestinians, in my judgment. We can chart a hopeful future, and that's exactly what this process is intending to do; to redefine the future for the Palestinian citizens and the Israelis.
I'm confident that two democratic states living side by side in peace is in the interests not only of the Palestinians and the Israelis, but of the world. The question is whether or not the hard issues can be resolved and the vision emerges, so that the choice is clear amongst the Palestinians -- the choice being, do you want this state, or do you want the status quo? Do you want a future based upon a democratic state, or do you want the same old stuff? And that's a choice that I'm confident that if the Palestinian people are given, they will choose peace.
And so that's what we're trying to do, sir."
Rice on Jerusalem
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice reportedly told Jerusalem Post that "the United States doesn't make a distinction" between settlement activity in east Jerusalem and the West Bank and that Israel's road map obligations, which include a building freeze, relate to "settlement activity generally."
The issue had come to a head earlier in Israel when firebrand Avigdor Leiberman crticized Secretary Rice for daring to talk about settlement expansion, in particular the sensitive South Jerusalem settlement Har Homa that is across the 1967 Green line. In mid December prior to the conference at Annapolis, Lieberman said in response to Rice's negative comments about 300 building tenders in Har Homa, "'We hope that not only will 300 flats be built here, but 3,000. There is total consensus over the building here and it is the inalienable right of every Jew to live here.' Referring to US criticism, he said that 'this doesn't harm confidence on the Palestinian side, it bolsters the Jews' confidence in our right to be here'."
On the Annapolis conference, Lieberman, head of the Israel Beiteinu wing of the Knesset, and representing a constant threat to Olmert's fragile government also said before Annapolis, "'I hope the next meeting will be canceled,' he said. 'That's what we are in the government for. Our mission is to stop the Annapolis process and I can confidently assure you that nothing will come out of it.'"
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