July 8, 2004
In the President's Words: "I believe the Palestinian people deserve democratic institutions and
responsible leaders. So for
the sake of peace, I'm committed to helping the Palestinian people
establish a democratic and viable state of their
own." "We believe that every person has a right to think and pray and live in
obedience to God and conscience, not in
frightened submission to despots. We believe that societies find their
greatness by encouraging the creative gifts of
their people, not in controlling their lives and feeding their
resentments." "The world's best hope for lasting security and stability across the
Middle East is the establishment of just and
free societies. And so across that vital region, America is standing for
the expansion of human liberty. ... We must be
strong in our belief that free societies are hopeful societies and
peaceful societies." "Freedom is also at the heart of our approach to bringing peace between
Israel and the Palestinian people." "The Palestinian people deserve a better future, and that future can be
achieved through democracy." "Our vision is a Middle East where young Israelis and Palestinians can
play and learn and grow without living in the
shadow of death." "...a peaceful Palestinian state must be a state in which youngsters
are well educated and have a chance to make a
living and have a chance to – parents have a chance to realize
– raise their children in a peaceful setting." "We want there to be peace. We want people to have a living. We want
people to send their kids to schools that work.
We want there to be health care. We want there to be a Palestinian state
at peace with its neighbors. We want there to
be reform. We want people to have a chance to participate in the
process." "The world must recognize the possibility of a Palestinian state. I
mean, the development of a Palestinian state is
– that's free and democratic – and by the way, democracy
doesn't have to look like America or Europe; it's got to be
attuned to the cultures and to the Palestinian people. It's what they
want." "[T]he Palestinians are people who need hope – hope for a better
life, hope to be able to make a living, hope to
raise their families in a peaceful situation. That's what they want, and
the best opportunity for that to happen is for
there to be a state that emerges that provides the framework for a
peaceful coexistence in the Middle East." "Prime Minister Sharon made a decision to withdraw from the Gaza and
from settlements on the West Bank, which I
thought was a very strong decision and an important decision, because it
now gives us a chance to move in and to say to
the Palestinians, 'Here's your chance to build a state, to put the
institutions in place for a state to emerge, that
speaks to the aspirations and hopes of the Palestinian people, that is a
peaceful state.'" "...I was the first President ever to articulate the vision of a
Palestinian state. No other President has ever done
that. I was pleased to do so because I believe that is the best hope for
the Palestinian people and the best way to
promote peace." "And now is the time for the world to step up and take advantage of
this opportunity and help to build a Palestinian
state that's committed to the principles of individual rights and rule of
law and fairness and justice so the
Palestinian people have a chance to grow a peaceful state and so that
Israel has a partner in peace, not a launching
pad of terrorist attacks, on her border." "I think this is a fantastic opportunity – the fact that Ariel
Sharon said, we're going to withdraw from territory,
is an historic moment. And it creates a chance for the world to come
together to help develop a Palestinian state based
upon a solid foundation, a foundation where the institutions are bigger
than the people..." "This opportunity holds great promise for the Palestinian people to
build a modern economy that will lift millions
out of poverty, create the institutions and habits of liberty, and
renounce the terror and violence that impede their
aspirations and take a terrible toll on innocent life." "The United States supports the establishment of a Palestinian state
that is viable, contiguous, sovereign, and
independent, so that the Palestinian people can build their own
future." "The policy of the United States is to help bring peace to the Middle
East and to hope—bring hope to the people of
that region." "As the greater Middle East increasingly becomes a place where freedom
flourishes, the lives of millions in that
region will be bettered..." "The advance of freedom in the greater Middle East has given new rights
and new hopes to women." "We seek to spread the benefits of democracy and tolerance and freedom
throughout the greater Middle East ." "It is time for Palestinian leadership to emerge that believes in peace
and believes in the aspirations of the
Palestinian people." "It's in Israel's interests there be a Palestinian state. It's in the
poor, suffering Palestinian people's interest
there be a Palestinian state." "...I believe that the Palestinians deserve a state. As a matter of
fact, I'm the first United States President to
stand up and call for that." "We believe that freedom is the right of every person. We believe that
freedom is the hope of every culture. We
believe that freedom is the future of every nation in the Middle East
." "I believe every person has the ability and the right to be free." "Representative governments in the Middle East will reflect their own
cultures. They will not and should not look
like us." "The good and capable people of the Middle East all deserve responsible
leadership. For too long, many people in
that region have been victims and subjects. They deserve to be active
citizens." "This administration is prepared to help the Palestinians develop an
economy. We're prepared to help the
long-suffering Palestinian people." "The big objective, of course, is for there to be peace and freedom,
peace in the Middle East , freedom for people
who are oppressed." "The Palestinian people deserve their own state, and they will gain
that state by embracing new leaders committed to
reform, to fighting terror, and to building peace." "The world will come together to help an economy grow so that the
Palestinian people can have a hopeful future." "I think a Palestinian state is one of the most hopeful things ... for
the Palestinian people and for the Israelis,
for that matter." "We have seen freedom's power in Europe and Asia and Africa and Latin
America, and we will see freedom's
power in the Middle East. Every person in every culture has the
inalienable right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of
happiness." "America is firmly committed to the security of Israel as a Jewish
state, and we are firmly committed to the safety
of the Israeli people. We have now a tremendous opportunity to add to
Israeli security and safety and add to the hopes
of the average Palestinian citizen by making tangible progress towards two
states living side by side in peace." "Israelis and Palestinians deserve the same chance to live normal
lives, free from fear, free from hatred and
violence, and free from harassment." "The Government of Israel recognized that Israel 's own interests would
be served when the Palestinians govern
themselves in their own state, a peaceful, democratic state where the
forces of terror have been replaced by the rule
of law." "The Palestinian people, like people everywhere, deserve freedom. They
deserve an honest government, and they
deserve peace." "We're seeing movement toward reform and freedom in other parts of the
Middle East . The leadership and courage of
Prime Minister Abbas and Prime Minister Sharon are giving their peoples
new hope for progress." "Each of us is here because we understand that all people have the
right to live in peace. We believe that with hard
work and good faith and courage, it is possible to bring peace to the
Middle East." "Great and hopeful change is coming to the Middle East ... Prime
Minister Abbas now leads the Palestinian
Cabinet. By his strong leadership, by building the institutions of
Palestinian democracy, and by rejecting terror, he
is serving the deepest hopes of his people." "All here today now share a goal: the Holy Land must be shared between
the state of Palestine and the state of
Israel, living at peace with each other and with every nation of the
Middle East. All sides will benefit from this
achievement and all sides have responsibilities to meet. As the road map
accepted by the party makes clear, both must
make tangible immediate steps toward this two-state vision." "Great success happens when there's two states, living side-by-side in
peace. And this is progress." "We meet in Sinai at a moment of promise for the cause of peace in the
Middle East . We see the potential for
unity against terror. We see the potential for the birth of a new and
Palestinian state. We see the potential for
broader peace among the peoples of this region. Achieving these goals will
require courage and moral vision on every
side, from every leader. America is committed, and I am committed, to
helping all the parties to reach the hard and
heroic decisions that will lead to peace." "[W]e all have got to work together to make security real -- not only
for Israel , but for the Palestinian
people." "[T]here are responsibilities that all of us have as leaders, not only
responsibility to the new Prime Minister
of the Palestinian Authority, not only the responsibility of the Israeli
Prime Minister, but a responsibility for the
leadership in the Arab world to fight terror, prevent killers from
stopping the process from going forward." "Some believe that democracy in the Middle East is unlikely, if not
impossible. They argue that the people of
the Middle East have little desire for freedom or self-government. These
same arguments have been heard before in other
times, about other people. [e]very milestone of liberty over the last 60
years was declared impossible until the very
moment it happened. The history of the modern world offers a lesson for
the skeptics: do not bet against the success of
freedom." "We also see hopeful signs of change. About half of all the Muslim
people live under democratic rule in nations
from Turkey to Indonesia. The governments of Bahrain and Morocco have held
recent and free elections. And Jordan will
hold elections next month. The people of Qatar have approved a new
constitution guaranteeing basic freedoms. Crown
Prince Abdallah of Saudi Arabia has proposed a new Arab charter calling
for internal reform and enhanced political
participation in nations of that region. [a]nd in Iran , the desire for
freedom is stirring. In the face of harsh
repression, Iranians are courageously speaking out for democracy and the
rule of law and human rights. And the United
States strongly supports their aspirations for freedom." "I urge Israelis and Palestinians to work with us and with other
members of the international community, and
above all directly with each other to immediately end the violence and
return to a path of peace based on the
principles and objectives outlined in my statement of June 24, 2002. Both
Israelis and Palestinians have suffered from
the terror and violence, and from the loss of hope in a better future of
peace and security. An opportunity now exists
to move forward. The United States will do all it can to seize this
opportunity. To that end, I have asked Secretary
Powell to travel to the region to begin working with the parties so that
we can take advantage of this moment."
" America is committed, and I am personally committed, to implementing our road map toward peace. Our efforts are guided by clear principles: We believe that all people in the Middle East - Arab and Israeli alike - deserve to live in dignity, under free and honest governments. We believe that people who live in freedom are more likely to reject bitterness, blind hatred and terror; and are far more likely to turn their energy toward reconciliation, reform and development. "There can be no peace for either side in the Middle East unless there
is freedom for both. Reaching that
destination will not be easy, but we can see the way forward. Now the
parties must take that way, step by step, and
America will be the active partner of every party that seeks true peace."
"Success in Iraq could also begin a new stage for Middle Eastern peace,
and set in motion progress towards a
truly democratic Palestinian state. The passing of Saddam Hussein's regime
will deprive terrorist networks of a wealthy
patron that pays for terrorist training, and offers rewards to families of
suicide bombers. And other regimes will be
given a clear warning that support for terror will not be tolerated." "The United States and other nations are working on a road map for
peace. We are setting out the necessary
conditions for progress toward the goal of two states, Israel and
Palestine , living side by side in peace and
security. It is the commitment of our government -- and my personal
commitment -- to implement the road map and to
reach that goal." "[T]here are a lot of non-governmental organizations doing work within
the Palestinian Territory to make sure
that people don't starve. But the net effect of terrorism is to not only
stop the peace process, but is to cause
suffering amongst all the people of the region. And that's why our war
against terror must -- must remain steadfast and
strong, wherever terror exists." "Well, first of all, I'm committed to peace. That's - I can speak for
myself. And I'm committed to a vision of
two states respecting each other, two states living side by side in
peace." "This moment is both an opportunity and a test for all parties in the
Middle East : an opportunity to lay the
foundations for future peace; a test to show who is serious about peace
and who is not. The choice here is stark and
simple. The Bible says, 'I have set before you life and death; therefore,
choose life.' The time has arrived for
everyone in this conflict to choose peace, and hope, and life." "I don't think Mr. Arafat is the issue. I think the issue is the Palestinian people. And as I have expressed myself, I am disappointed that he has not led in such a way that the Palestinian people have hope and confidence. And so, therefore, what we've got to do is work to put institutions in place which will allow for a government to develop which will bring confidence not only to Israelis, but the Palestinians." "And so, first things first, and that is, what institutions are
necessary to give the Palestinian people hope
and to give the Israelis confidence that the emerging government will be
someone with whom they can deal. And that's
going to require security steps; transparency, when it comes to economic
matters; anti-corruption devices; rule of law,
enforced by a court system." "The United States and the EU share a common vision of two states,
Palestine and Israel, living side by side
in peace and security. This vision offers the Palestinian people a new
opportunity to choose how they live. We should
take this opportunity to help build institutions that will serve the
Palestinian people, a Palestinian state and its
neighbors, as well." "There are clearly people in the Middle East who would use terror as a
weapon to derail any peace process. And
for there to be peace -- something I long for, and something I know that
Israel and the Palestinian people long for --
in order for there to be peace, we must continue to rout out terror. And
the message can't be more clear, and we're
going to continue to hold people accountable for results." "When an 18 year old Palestinian girl is induced to blow herself up,
and in the process kills a 17 year old
Israeli girl, the future, itself, is dying -- the future of the
Palestinian people and the future of the Israeli
people. The United States is strongly committed to finding a just
settlement in the Middle East . That settlement must
lead to two states, Israel and Palestine , living side by side in peace
and security."
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