Bush Offers Palestinians Aid

Visiting Leader Abbas Is Praised as 'a Man of Courage'

President Bush offered an unstinting vote of confidence and $50 million in direct aid to Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas yesterday in an attempt to bolster his newly elected government and reinvigorate the Middle East peace process.

Signaling a new era of relations, the president welcomed Abbas to the White House for the first time since his January election as president of the Palestinian Authority. Bush never extended such an invitation to Abbas's predecessor, Yasser Arafat, who died in November after years of estrangement from the U.S. administration.

Israeli leaders had hoped Bush would pressure Abbas to do more to dismantle militant groups, but the president publicly voiced nothing but praise for the Palestinian leader. Calling Abbas "a man of courage," Bush endorsed his efforts to reform Palestinian institutions and agreed with his demands that Israel halt settlement expansion in the West Bank.

The money infusion represents the largest direct financial boost to the Palestinians during Bush's presidency. Bush also announced he will dispatch Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice for her first extended trip to the region as America's top diplomat.

"We will stand with you, Mr. President, as you combat corruption, reform the Palestinian security services and your justice system, and revive your economy," Bush told Abbas in a joint appearance in the Rose Garden. "Mr. President, you have made a new start on a difficult journey, requiring courage and leadership each day -- and we will take that journey together."

Still, Bush did not give Abbas written commitments in the form of a letter, as he previously gave Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and as some Palestinians had wanted. By the time Abbas showed up for his Oval Office session with Bush, it had become clear the president would not offer a letter, and a White House aide said Abbas did not even raise the matter.

The warm embrace of Abbas came in sharp contrast to Bush's open animosity toward Arafat, and the president seemed eager to bolster the new Palestinian leader in the face of Israeli criticism and Palestinian discontent. U.S. officials regard his success as the best chance to break through the logjam of decades of Israeli-Palestinian hatred and conflict.

"Now is the time for all parties of this conflict to move beyond old grievances and act forcefully in the cause of peace," Bush said.

"Time is becoming our greatest enemy," Abbas said. "We should end this conflict before it is too late."

Advisers to Abbas said they were thrilled with the meeting. "The Palestinians were not only pleased but surprised at how it went," said Edward G. Abington Jr., a former State Department official who is a consultant to the Palestinian Authority.

Palestinians believed that the chemistry between Bush and Abbas was "very, very good" and that Bush was direct and explicit in his goals. Moreover, the $50 million in aid was seen as "a vote of confidence" in Abbas's reform of the Palestinian Authority, Abington said.

Palestinian officials felt that some of Bush's language was much more explicit in telling the Israelis that Sharon's planned withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in August will not mean the end of the process. Bush, for instance, noted that he is sending Rice to the region before the disengagement to discuss "the way back on the road map," the administration's long-stalled peace plan. Rice will travel to Jerusalem and Ramallah probably next month, the State Department said.