President Bush's 2/26 speech

Submitted by Robert Schwartz (United States), Mar 4, 2003 at 20:23

I do not think that President Bush's speech on 2/26/2003 has received sufficent attention. In the speech he repeated and extended his vision for peace between Israel and the Palestinians. the full text is found at:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/02/20030226-11.html
here is my summary of the relevant points:

Palestinian state must be:
reformed (democratic) and
peaceful (abandon forever the use of terror)

Israel -- as the terror threat is removed and security improves -- must
support the creation of a viable Palestinian state
work as quickly as possible toward a final status agreement, and
end settlement activity in the occupied territories, as progress is made toward peace.

the Arab states will be expected to meet their responsibilities to
oppose terrorism,
support the emergence of a peaceful and democratic Palestine, and
state clearly they will live in peace with Israel.

This last item is the most revolutionary as it represents the final and complete abandonment of the 3 No's (NO negotiation, recognition, peace) that have powered Arab policy toward Israel since 1967. Clearly, it would be a new era in the Middle East.

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