CRAWFORD/CAIRO, 22 July 2003 — President George W. Bush issued new warnings at Syria and Iran yesterday, accusing them of “unacceptable” conduct in supporting and harboring terrorism.
Bush said it was time for all governments in the Middle East to support Israel and the Palestinians as they strive to end their conflict. “This includes the governments of Syria and Iran,” Bush said in a press conference with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. “Today, Syria and Iran continue to harbor and assist terrorism. This behavior is completely unacceptable,” he said.
Bush added that states which support terrorism will be “held accountable” and that terrorism undermined Middle East peace.
Meanwhile, Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas said in Cairo yesterday that a three-week-old Palestinian truce was holding but Israel must free all Palestinian prisoners from its jails if it wants “peace to prevail”.
“What’s important for us is the truce that we agreed with Palestinian factions and that everybody respects it,” Abbas said after meeting President Hosni Mubarak.
“An atmosphere of security and stability prevails in our territories,” Abbas said at a joint press conference with Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher.
When reporters asked about Israel’s refusal to release more prisoners, withdraw more troops and scrap settlements, Abbas replied: “If we don’t have any progress on those issues, achieving stability will be difficult.”
He added: “That’s why if the Israeli government wants peace to prevail, it has to tackle all those issues.”
— With input from Agencies
