(White House) - President Bush said Thursday: In June 2002 I laid out what I believe is necessary to achieve peace in the Middle East. It starts with having a Palestinian state that is at peace with Israel, a Palestinian state based upon democratic principles, a Palestinian state which recognizes the hopes and aspirations of the Palestinian people, and a Palestinian state with leadership which is committed to defeating and dismantling the terrorist organizations who are trying to prevent a Palestinian state from emerging. I also talked about the need for the Israelis to keep in mind that if they support a Palestinian state, which they have told me they do, that the conditions on the ground must be such for a Palestinian state to be able to emerge. And that's why we're continuing to talk to them about the illegal outposts and settlements, as well as the fence. Q: This is a productive process, the Geneva Accords and Secretary Powell's meeting? Bush: Well, I think it's productive, so long as they adhere to the principles I have just outlined. And that is, we must fight off terror, that there must be security, and there must be the emergence of a Palestinian state that is democratic and free. We appreciate people discussing peace; we just want to make sure people understand that the principles to peace are clear.
2003-12-05 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive