World

Bush Calls For New Mideast Peace Push

July 16, 2007 / 10:27 AM EDT / CBS/AP

President Bush called Monday for an international conference later this year to include Israel and some of its Arab neighbors to help restart Mideast peace talks. He also pledged increased aid to the Palestinian government of President Mahmoud Abbas.

The U.S. wants to be seen backing Abbas as the internationally recognized Palestinian leader, reports CBS News White House correspondent Mark Knoller.

"By supporting the reforms of President (Mahmoud) Abbas and Prime Minister (Salem) Fayyad, we can help them show the world what a Palestinian state would look like and act like," Mr. Bush said. "We can help them prove to the world, the region, and Israel that a Palestinian state would be a partner, not a danger"

The president also announced more than $190 million in aid to the Abbas government.

"We are showing the Palestinian people that a commitment to the peace leads to the generous support of the United States," Mr. Bush said.

In other developments:

Israel will free 250 Palestinian prisoners later this week, following through on a pledge to release the men as part of its strategy to bolster Abbas in his power struggle against the Hamas militant group, officials said Monday. Israel announced the release after a meeting between Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Abbas in Jerusalem.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will leave Washington on Wednesday night for Lisbon, for a meeting of the "Quartet" of Mideast peace makers in Portugal on Thursday, reports CBS News' Charles Wolfson. The Quartet members — the U.S., EU, United Nations and Russia — will confer with former British Prime Minister Tony Blair for the first time since he was named a special envoy to the region.

The new Palestinian prime minister says removing roadblocks and releasing funds isn't enough, Israel must also hold talks on a permanent solution to end the Israeli occupation. However, Fayyad, who also serves as Palestinian finance minister, told the Haaretz newspaper that Israel does not need to be concerned about the refugee situation; it can be worked out.

A group representing thousands of children of Holocaust survivors filed a class-action lawsuit against the German government on Monday, demanding that Germany pay for their psychiatric care. The suit seeks to set up a German-financed fund to pay for biweekly therapy sessions for 15,000 to 20,000 people, or about $10 million annually for three years.

An Israeli parliament report says the country is not ready for an attack with non-conventional weapons, such as chemicals, because gas mask kits were not refurbished after the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, when Israelis were advised to open the kits and have them ready. Once opened, the kits must be renewed, and haven't been.

"We must show that in the face of extremism and violence, we stand on the side of tolerance and decency. In the face of chaos and murder, we sit on the side of law and justice. And in the face of terror and cynicism and anger, we stand on the side of peace and the Holy Land," President Bush said.

The fall conference among Palestinian and Israeli officials and other countries in the region would be a way to prod the peace process. It would be one of the few times that Israelis and Arab leaders have met jointly to work out their differences.

President Bush said Rice would preside over the session. Mr. Bush said the conference would include representatives from Israel, the Palestinians "and their neighbors in the region" and said participants would include just those governments that support creation of a Palestinian state.

"Launching the Arab League initiative was a welcome first step," he said. "Arab nations should build on this initiative, by ending the fiction that Israel does not exist, stopping the incitement of hatred in their official media, and sending cabinet level visitors to Israel."

Both sides described Monday's talks between Abbas and Olmert as positive, noting the two leaders discussed a range of issues during a one-on-one meeting that lasted for an hour.

None of those who will be released Friday are members of Hamas, reports CBS News' David Jablinowitz.

Israel has been trying to boost Abbas since Hamas routed his forces and violently seized control of the Gaza Strip last month. Abbas dissolved a coalition with Hamas and formed a new moderate government based in the West Bank. Abbas' new government has been embraced by the West, while Gaza faces deep isolation.

"These (Fatah Palestinian) leaders are striving to build the institutions of a modern democracy," said President Bush. "By following this path, Palestinians can reclaim their dignity and their future and establish a state of their own."

The planned prisoner release is the latest step taken by Israel to help Abbas. It also has unfrozen more than $100 million in Palestinian tax funds, offered amnesty to nearly 200 Fatah gunmen in the West Bank and scaled back arrest raids against Palestinian militants.

Olmert and Abbas also agreed to meet again in two weeks, most likely in the West Bank town of Jericho, Galanti said. It would be the first meeting of the men on Palestinian territory. However, past pledges for the men to meet in the West Bank have not been carried out.

While working to boost Abbas, the international community has isolated Hamas-run Gaza. Israel has sealed the area's borders, allowing little more than food, basic supplies and humanitarian aid into the impoverished, densely populated coastal area.

During Monday's talks, Israel promised to continue to allow humanitarian aid to flow into Gaza, officials said. They said all deliveries would be coordinated with aid groups or private individuals in Gaza, and there would be no contacts with Hamas.