CRAWFORD, Texas, 31 March — US President George W. Bush yesterday assured Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan that he was committed to the Middle East peace process, but at the same time justified the latest Israeli outrages against the Palestinians by saying Tel Aviv had the right to defend itself and called on the besieged Yasser Arafat to do more for peace.
Criticized for his silence on the face of Israeli assaults against the Palestinians and the attack on Palestinian leader Arafat’s compound, Bush told reporters Arafat can do a lot more for peace. “Arafat has to stand up and condemn these attacks on Israelis,” he said.
Bush also yesterday warned Iran to “stop sponsoring terrorism” in the Middle East and asked Syria to participate in achieving peace in the region.
The president said he had been assured by the Israeli government that Arafat would not be harmed.
As Bush spoke, Israeli troops warned Arafat’s aides that they planned to storm his office within one hour, a Palestinian Cabinet member told Al-Jazeera television.
The Saudi Press Agency confirmed that Crown Prince Abdullah, who is now in Beirut, had received a call from President Bush.
“Their telephone talks focused on the developments in the Middle East following the dangerous escalation triggered by the Israeli attacks and the tyrannical siege of Palestinian leadership and people,” SPA said.
In his phone call, Bush also “thanked Prince Abdullah for his recent speech at the Arab summit in Beirut,” a US spokesman said.
The Saudi crown prince presented a historic peace plan at the Beirut summit.
Bush had also called President Hosni Mubarak, Jordan’s King Abdallah, Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar, who holds the EU presidency and UN chief Kofi Annan and told them that Washington would continue its efforts for peace in the Middle East, said spokesman Gordon Johndroe.
In telephone conversations lasting 45 minutes, Bush said his special envoy Anthony Zinni would remain in the region to pursue a US-brokered cease-fire, the spokesman said.
“The president reiterated that Zinni will remain in the region, and reaffirmed that the US remains committed to peace in the region,” said Johndroe. But, Israeli Premier Ariel Sharon threatened to attack Syria and Lebanon.
Asked why Bush had not felt the need to get more personally involved in the process, Johndroe said that Bush was “in constant touch” with National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice and Secretary of State Colin Powell.
Meanwhile, Prince Abdullah received another telephone call from President Mubarak.
The two leaders discussed the situation in the region in the wake of the storming of the Palestinian Authority headquarters by Israeli occupation forces.
