emanuelusy.org → israel
Hey! It’s Rebecca again, your Israeli Affairs VP, with some new news about Israel in terms of what President Bush has to say about what it takes to reach peace.
"I believe it's going to happen, that there will be a signed peace treaty by the time I leave office." ~George W. Bush, January 11, 2008
A confident President Bush visited Israel in hopes of helping to lie out plans for a peace treaty between Israelis and Palestinians. His “blueprint” included changing territory lines set back in 1967. He wanted a separate Palestinian state, instead of having Palestinian refugees return to Israel. He also made this comment: "These negotiations must ensure that Israel has secure, recognized, and defensible borders. And they must ensure that the state of Palestine is viable, contiguous, sovereign and independent." He did acknowledge that in order to do this, big sacrifices would have to be made on both sides. He believes that creating a state of Palestine would “enhance the stability of the region” and make it safer for all who live there.
Prime Minister Olmert ate dinner with Bush, who supports Olmert and believes Olmert is a big key in the “diplomatic process”. Bush also made clear that he supported regular meetings between Olmert and Abbas (the Palestinian leader) because they are going to be most important in making major decisions. Bush then toured around Israel a little, even stopping at Yad Vashem, the Holocaust museum, and promised to return back to the region at least once more before leaving office.
One topic Bush wasn’t so sure about was the issue of Jerusalem. The holy city is sacred to many, even though it now lies in Israel. He wasn’t clear on what he thought should happen to it, just mentioning that it’s “a tough issue”.
Bush did make clear that all agreements would be mutual, meaning Israel could still hold a large plot of land and that Israel’s security was at the forefront of negotiations. Israel should end settlement expansion and remove unauthorized outposts and Palestinians should focus on dismantling terrorists.
Although the means of negotiations and what either side will agree to is pretty shaky, at least it’s a step forward. Saying that peace could be had by a year from now was putting a very brave face on the situation and many are doubtful that this is possible. As long as Israelis and Palestinians are talking, they won’t have time to focus on killing each other.
-Rebecca Zweifler-Israeli Affairs VP
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