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Bush Alters Stand on Palestinians
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But his language Thursday on compensation was a first for his administration; Bush's repeated statements that Israel should be a "Jewish" state have been interpreted as support of the Israeli position that there should not be a wholesale return of Palestinian refugees to their erstwhile property in Israel.
Until now Bush has resisted the Clinton administration position that the refugees should receive compensation for their losses and suffering.
To encourage Israel to leave the Gaza Strip, Bush in April 2004 gave then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon a letter saying in effect that Palestinians should expect to reside in a Palestinian state, not return to Israel, and that Israel could expect to retain large settlement blocs in any peace deal. The letter infuriated Palestinians because it had no balancing language for them.
In his statement Thursday, Bush said that "we need to look to the establishment of a Palestinian state and new international mechanisms, including compensation, to resolve the refugee issue." Previous estimates have put the cost of compensation at $100 billion to $150 billion.
Palestinian and Israeli officials reacted cautiously to Bush's pronouncements.
"I don't think either me, nor President Bush, nor anyone else can decide for refugees whether compensation is enough. This is up to every refugee to decide and this is an individual right that should be respected," said Mustafa Barghouti, a member of the Palestinian parliament.
Walid Awad, a spokesman for Abbas's Fatah political movement, described Bush's statement on ending the occupation as "his strongest statement and it is very much welcome. . . . It was said implicitly before but not as clearly as it was now."
Mark Regev, a spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, said the Israeli government regards Bush's statement as "a positive framework for our talks with the Palestinians." He said the president's comment on occupation reflected his previous position.
Among the many unanswered questions in the wake of Bush's visit will be what to do about Gaza, the strip of land between southern Israel and the Mediterranean that since last summer has been under the control of the armed group Hamas, which opposes Israel's right to exist.
Bush acknowledged that Hamas's control of Gaza creates "a tough situation. I don't know whether you can solve it in a year or not."
"All the Palestinians till now reject any type of agreement between Mr. Abbas and President Bush," said Fawzi Barhoum, a Gaza-based spokesman for Hamas. "Bush supports clearly and frankly the occupation as a Jewish state and as such we want nothing to do with him."
Staff writer Glenn Kessler in Washington and correspondent Ellen Knickmeyer in Cairo contributed to this report.
