Abdullatif Mannawi, Asharq Al-Awsat

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, 4 June 2003 — US President George W. Bush launched the most ambitious US Middle East peace mission in two years yesterday, meeting Arab leaders to try to win support for an end to Israeli-Palestinian bloodshed.

In opening remarks to the US-Arab summit in this Egyptian resort, Bush told Israel it had a responsibility to deal with Jewish settlements.

“Israel has got responsibilities. Israel must deal with the settlements. Israel must make sure there is a contiguous territory that the Palestinians can call home,” Bush said.

A freeze on settlement activity is a key part of the Middle East peace road map, drawn up by the United States, the United Nations, the European Union and Russia.

US hopes for progress have been buoyed by word that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is to announce plans to uproot some rogue Jewish settler outposts. The international community considers the settlements illegal, although Israel disputes this.

Amid tight security, Bush met host Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak before the two leaders joined Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard, Jordan’s King Abdallah, Bahrain’s King Hamad and Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas.

“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 Palestinian state,” Bush said.

“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,” the US president added.

Crown Prince Abdullah held a separate meeting with Bush and emphasized the need to implement the road map leading to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state. Bush commended Riyadh’s efforts to punish those behind the suicide bombings last month in Riyadh. “The president had an opportunity to congratulate the crown prince on the recent Saudi successes in fighting terrorism, including their efforts concerning the Riyadh bombings,” said Bush’s national security advisor Condoleezza Rice.

Arab leaders pledged to do all they can do to fight terrorism, whatever its motivation. The commitment was echoed by Bush, who said it covered Palestinian groups fighting Israel.

“We are going to utilize all means possible to block support for terrorist organizations,” Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said, reading from a statement by the leaders at the end of the summit with Bush.

“We confirm our opposition to terrorism and violence. We give an assurance to continue fighting the horrors of terrorism directed against humanity and reject the culture of extremism and violence, whatever the form, source or origin, and whatever the reasons or motives,” Mubarak said.

The Egyptian president also said he and his fellow leaders would “continue to support the efforts of the Palestinian Authority in the struggle against violence, and we are going to make sure that our help goes solely to the Palestinian Authority.”

“We call on Israel to simultaneously fulfill its own responsibilities to rebuild trust and restore normal Palestinian life, and to carry out its other obligations under the road map, thus promoting progress toward the president’s vision,” Mubarak said.

Speaking to reporters later, the Egyptian president said: “We will use the full force of the law to stop funds getting to illegal organizations including terrorist groups.”

“President Bush gave a push to the peace process by presenting his vision of establishing two states, Israel and Palestine, living in security and peace,” Mubarak said.

“We welcome the road map that arose from this vision,” he added.

The Arab communique, which US Secretary of State Colin Powell called “a very strong statement”, also branded terrorism “a scourge which threatens the security and stability of the entire world.”

Bush, who met Abbas for the first time, is seeking support for the road map, which outlines a series of reciprocal steps by Palestinians and Israelis leading to the creation of a Palestinian state by 2005.

The high-level talks have raised hopes for an end to 32 months of Israeli-Palestinian violence, but doubts remain over the commitment of both sides to implementing the plan.

In a goodwill gesture, Israel began releasing dozens of Palestinian prisoners yesterday. But in a simultaneous sign of the obstacles ahead, Israeli troops shot dead a Palestinian security man in the Gaza Strip and wounded five stone-throwers in a sweep of the West Bank.

Bush is to hold today a landmark summit with Sharon and Abbas in the Jordanian port city of Aqaba.

Before arriving from the Group of Eight (G-8) summit in France, Bush said Middle East peace would be a difficult undertaking but he would “put in as much time as necessary to achieve the vision of two states living side-by-side in peace.”

Meanwhile, US-Arab differences over normalization with Israel emerged before the summit and delayed its formal opening, the Egyptian MENA news agency reported. The United States has asked Arabs to undertake measures of normalization with Israel, it said. The Arabs replied they were not opposed to this demand in principle, but only in the framework of a comprehensive settlement of the Middle East conflict, it added. The agency said US and Arab officials tried for two hours to hammer out an “acceptable formula” to be included in the final statement.

President Bush is expected shortly to appoint a career diplomat with little Middle East experience to coordinate implementation of the road map, US officials said.

The officials said John Wolf, currently the assistant secretary of state for nonproliferation, would likely head a team composed of State Department and CIA personnel.