The most obvious gap in the new Bush approach is its assumption that the Palestinian people really want peace, and that it\’s just a corrupt, unaccountable leadership that wants to intensify the fight against Israel, said Daniel Pipes, a longtime peace process critic and president of the Middle East Forum.
Palestinian Chairman Yasser Arafat chose to view President George W. Bush\’s speech in the most positive light, rejecting the call for his ouster and focussing instead on the promise for a state.
The following is the text of President Bush\’s speech in the Rose Garden on June 24, as transcribed by the Federal News Service.
President Bush\’s Middle East speech arguably was the most unabashedly pro-Israel statement ever by an American president — yet it is getting mixed reviews in Israel.
President Bush spoke out in defense of Israel and reiterated his criticism of Yasser Arafat. "Israel has a right to defend herself," Bush told reporters June 10 as he met in the White House with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
Since the intifada began, Israeli officials have declared Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat \”irrelevant,\” a \”terrorist,\” an \”enemy\” and a \”pathological liar.\”
Israelis attending the meeting later were quoted as backing the plan — as long as it is completed quickly.
Life seems to be returning to normal in Ramallah — but beneath the surface, Palestinians are questioning their regime in unprecedented ways.
The fallout from Operation Protective Wall, and even this week\’s suicide bombing in Rishon le-Zion, may move the diplomatic aspect of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in unexpected directions.
At a time when Israelis are afraid to step on a bus or go to a movie and Jews in Europe face burned synagogues and violent assaults, it is tempting to put aside our differences and criticisms in the name of the time-honored principal of kol Yisra\’el \’arevim zeh ba-zeh (all Jews are responsible for one another).
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