RAMALLAH, 12 May 2004 — US President George W. Bush has reiterated in a letter that he is committed to a Palestinian state alongside Israel and to Middle East peace talks, a top Palestinian official said yesterday.
Palestinians have been furious with Bush since he said last month that Israel could expect to keep parts of the West Bank under any final peace deal and ruled out chances that Palestinian refugees could return to former homes.
Bush’s comments were made in a three-page letter to Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qorei. “Mr. Bush reiterated his vision for a two state solution and the principle that no side should pre-empt final status negotiations,” Cabinet Minister Saeb Erekat said. “He also stressed twice in the letter that the objective of the peace process is to end the occupation that began in 1967.”
Bush gave Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon the unprecedented assurances to support a plan for a withdrawal from the Gaza Strip — an initiative that is now in doubt after being voted down by hard-liners in Sharon’s Likud party.
Qorei yesterday received the letter from US President George W. Bush and may meet US Secretary of State Colin Powell in Jordan on Saturday, his negotiations minister said yesterday. The letter’s delivery precedes a meeting on Monday in Berlin between Qorei and US national security adviser Condoleezza Rice, Erekat said, marking the first high-level US-Palestinian talks since Qorei took office last autumn.
Erekat said that meeting will be held after possible talks on Saturday between Qorei and Powell during this weekend’s World Economic Forum in Jordan. Qorei will meet “Rice on Monday and a meeting could take place next Saturday between Abu Ala and Powell,” he said.
In another development, the Norwegian government announced on Tuesday that it would give the Palestinian Authority $12 million (10.2 million euros) to help boost its anemic economy before the creation of an independent Palestinian state.
“This budgetary support is justified by the Palestinian Authority’s extremely difficult financial situation. It will contribute to maintaining the central social institutions that must form the foundation of a future Palestinian state,” Foreign Minister Jan Petersen said in a statement.
“In the interest of future negotiations for a final peace solution, it is important that our contributions ensure the survival of the Palestinian Authority,” he added. The decision to offer budgetary support to the Palestinians comes after numerous Norwegian warnings to Israel not to carry out threats made by the country’s president Ariel Sharon to physically target Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.
The money will be placed in a fund created by donor nations within the World Bank, which will monitor that the funds are spent wisely.
