Rice: US to advance Palestinian state
American secretary of state says following Ramallah meeting with Abbas, ‘In these next months I’ll focus on trying to accelerate progress on the Road Map, which after all would lead us to a Palestinian state’; PA president: We reject any temporary solutions
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Sunday he opposes the establishment of a provisional Palestinian state in temporary borders.
'You will have my commitment.' Rice-Abbas meeting (Photo: AFP)
Such an idea was floated last month byIsraeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and is also part of the US-backed “Road map” peace plan.
Abbas said Sunday that he opposes the idea. “We told Secretary Rice that we reject any temporary solutions, including a transitional stage, because we don’t see it as a realistic option,” Abbas told a joint news conference with Rice.
The Palestinian leader, who thanked Rice for her efforts in advancing peace between Israel and the Palestinians, said the meeting focused mainly on creating the necessary conditions for the resumption of ‘serious negotiations that would bring an end to the occupation as stated by the Road Map and in accordance with President Bush’s vision regarding the establishment of a Palestinian state beside Israel – with Jerusalem as its capital.’
Rice responded by reiterating the US commitment to the Road Map. “My work is going to be best targeted, I think, in these next months on trying to accelerate progress on the Road Map, which after all would lead us then to a Palestinian state and to helping the Palestinians and Israelis think through the political horizon,” she said.
Rice said she was told during her trip that the United States needed to deepen its involvement in Mideast peace efforts. “You will have my commitment to do precisely that,” she said.
“The Palestinian people have waited a long time for their own state. The Israeli people have waited a long time to live in security and peace with their neighbors,” she said, adding that she and Bush were willing to what was needed to help make that a reality.
Abbas also said he is determined to go ahead with early elections if the latest round of coalition talks with Hamas fails.
Abbas told Rice that the US should pressure Israel to stop expanding West Bank settlements and building the security fence.
'Fatah in need of arms'
Abbas also said that releasing Palestinian prisoners from
Israeli jails, halting military operations and targeted assassinations against Palestinian gunmen and the lifting of a financial boycott imposed by international donor on the Palestinian Authority since Hamas rise to power in January 2006 are necessary steps for reviving the peace process.
While Israel has largely observed a ceasefire with Palestinian gunmen in the Gaza Strip it continues to crack down on gunmen in the West Bank in operations in redeems necessary for its security.
Abbas vowed that American aid and Egyptian arms to his Fatah movement won't end up in the hands of terrorists.
"The Palestinian are really in need of weapons, communication equipment, vehicles in order to rehabilitate the security forces, so they can impose order and authority in the Palestinian Authority," Abbas said.
