World

Palestinians Leave D.C. Happy

May 27, 2005 / 10:51 AM EDT / CBS/AP

Palestinian leaders came to the U.S. capital seeking political and economic support. After meeting with President Bush, they got it.

Praising Mahmoud Abbas, the recently elected president of the Palestinian Authority, as a man who believes in peace and democracy, Mr. Bush gave the Mideast peace process a boost and pledged to help make the dream of Palestinian statehood a reality.

"We meet at a time when a great achievement of history is within reach, the creation of a peaceful, democratic Palestinian state," Mr. Bush told reporters Thursday as he stood next to Abbas in the White House Rose Garden.

"You have made a new start on a difficult journey, requiring courage and leadership each day. And we will take that journey together," President Bush said to Abbas, successor to the late Yasser Arafat, who never received an invitation to the Bush White House.

In other developments:

Israel says it will continue expanding major West Bank settlement blocs, despite President Bush's criticism. "In (any) final status agreement, Israel will remain in control of the large settlement blocs," Spokesman Mark Regev told CBS News Correspondent Robert Berger.

Waving copies of the Quran and shouting anti-American slogans, thousands of angry Muslims across the Middle East on Friday demanded an official apology from the United States for the alleged desecration of Islam's holy book by military prison interrogators in Guantanamo, Cuba.

Working conditions for Palestinians deteriorated last year, with the number of unemployed reaching a record 224,000, approximately half the Palestinian population still lives in poverty, and the situation is getting worse, according to a report released by the International Labor Organization. ILO representatives "observed a prevailing feeling that the economic situation of Palestinians must improve in order for them to continue to support the policy of dialogue and negotiation with Israel," the report said.

Israel is launching a $280 million dollar campaign over the next four years to get young North American Jews to immigrate to the Jewish state. It starts with six months to a year in Israel, said Ilana Kamika of the Jewish Agency. "The programs are really of all different sorts, including study programs in universities, experiential programs, volunteering, a very wide variety of different things that participants can do."
President Bush announced that the United States would give $50 million in direct aid to the Palestinian Authority for housing and infrastructure projects designed to improve the lives of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip once Israel withdraws this summer.

"President Bush will know by meeting Mr. Abbas that if he wants democracy in the Middle East, we will do it for him, and he doesn't have to send troops or soldiers here to do it. We're going to do it," Palestinian Chief Negotiator Saeb Erekat told Berger.

The overwhelming majority of U.S. aid to the Palestinians in the past has been funneled through third parties. The new payment signified a show of confidence in Abbas' leadership.

Palestinian officials said they were pleased with the results of the three-day trip to the U.S.

"It was a success for the Palestinian side and for the efforts to achieve peace in the region," Palestinian Foreign Minister Nasser Al-Kidwa told The Associated Press. "I don't think we've heard such a clear and comprehensive U.S. position in the past."

Abbas' next stop was Ottawa, where Arab Canadians urged the government to back up its commitment to Middle East peace by pledging more financial aid to the Palestinian people. Hussein Amery, president of the National Council on Canada-Arab Relations, is calling not for a match of President Bush's $50 million in housing aid, but at least a "substantial investment."
Mr. Bush, expressing support for Palestinian political and territorial demands, called on Israel to withdraw from Palestinian towns, take steps to improve the daily lives of Palestinians and halt Jewish settlement construction on Palestinian land.

Of particular concern for Abbas is Israel's recently declared plan to build some 3,500 homes in Maaleh Adumim, the West Bank's largest settlement. The project will eventually link the settlement to traditionally Arab east Jerusalem, isolating it from the rest of the West Bank and destroying Palestinian hopes of making east Jerusalem their future capital.

On Thursday, Mr. Bush warned Israel against following through on the project.

President Bush's statements gave Abbas a much needed boost and likely will strengthen the Palestinian leader's standing ahead of upcoming parliamentary elections where his main challenger is the Islamic militant group Hamas.

U.S. support will also bolster Abbas' position in future peace talks with Israel.

Abbas noted recent Palestinian accomplishments, including steps taken toward financial and security reform. In return, he asked for U.S. help in granting the Palestinians their freedom.

"Time is becoming our greatest enemy," Abbas said. "It is time for the Palestinian-Israeli conflict to end right now. It is the time for our people, after many decades of suffering ... to enjoy living in freedom."

In one of his strongest statements yet, Bush said the borders of a future Palestinian state, including the fate of Jerusalem, must resemble the borders before Israel occupied the West Bank and Gaza 38 years ago. He said any changes made to these borders must be mutually agreed upon by the two parties.

Later, a senior Bush administration official who refused to be identified said the president stood by past statements supporting Israel's claims to the settlements.

Negotiations on final status issues, such as borders and the fate of millions of Palestinian refugees and their descendants, are some months away, at least, if not longer.

Israel has refused to return to the negotiating table until it completes its withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and four small West Bank settlements this summer.