Bush Pledges $50M To Palestinians

With Abbas At Side, Bush Announces Aid Package For Gaza Strip

(CBS/AP)  President Bush praised Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas' steps toward democracy on Thursday and said the United States would give the Palestinian Authority $50 million for housing and other construction projects in the Gaza Strip.

"You have made a new start on a difficult journey, requiring courage and leadership each day. And we will take that journey together," Mr. Bush told Abbas in the first visit of a Palestinian leader to the White House of his presidency.

The pledge of direct aid to the Palestinians comes after years of refusing to send money to the late Yasser Arafat's government. The $50 million is part of a $150 million package that Mr. Bush is seeking for the Palestinians from Congress.

Mr. Bush said the money would help Palestinians settle into Gaza once the Israel withdrawal set for this summer is complete.

"America wants to help," he said at a joint news conference with Abbas in the Rose Garden.

For his part, Abbas vowed to adhere to the U.S.-supported peace process.

But, he said, "Time is becoming our greatest enemy. We must end the Palestinian-Israeli conflict before it is too late."

Mr. Bush said both the Palestinians and Israel's must live up to their obligations under the so-called "road map" peace process that calls for creation of an independent Palestinian state on lands captured by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war.

"Israel must continue to take steps toward a peaceful future and not take steps "that contradicts road map obligations," Mr. Bush said. He said Israel must "remove unauthorized outposts and stop settlement expansions."

At the same time, the Palestinians must end violence against Israelis and Arab states must work to create a "climate for peace" by refusing to help militants who would attack Israel.

"We must not lose sight of the path ahead," he said.