Remarks Following Meeting With President Mahmoud Abbas

[IMRA: It is interesting to note that when Rice was asked about the ports
that she replied by saying that there are "three principles" - freedom of
movement in Gaza, freedom of movement in the West Bank and arranging for
movement between the two. She said nothing about movement from either Gaza
or the West Bank to the rest of the world]

Secretary Condoleezza Rice
Jerusalem
July 23, 2005
www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2005/49973.htm

PRESIDENT ABBAS (in Arabic): Our thanks and appreciation for your personal
role and the role of the US administration in supporting our efforts towards
obtaining our liberty from occupation and building this state and setting
the foundations of democracy under the umbrella of the unity of the
Palestinian Authority and the unity of Palestinian weapons and under law and
supremacy of pluralism too. Hereby, I must express sincere condolences first
to President Hosni Mubarak and to the Egyptian people and to the families of
those afflicted and my sincere wishes for a speedy recovery to those injured
as a result of the terrorist and criminal act which we condemn utterly as we
have condemned all the terrorist attacks that took place in London and
Turkey and Beirut.

We have affirmed in our discussions today that we are at the threshold - a
very important turning point - in our national process towards ending the
occupation and building the state. The Israeli withdrawal that is
anticipated from Gaza Strip will constitute an opportunity for us to develop
the institutions of the state and spreading our authority over that dear
part of our Palestinian homeland. We are committed to develop the Gaza Strip
and all the Palestinian territories politically and economically and
administratively to the best interest to our Palestinian people and we have
put the economic and civil and security plans to achieve those goals
accordingly. We have repeated what we said before, that we will not let
anybody, whatever their personal or partisan motives are, to impede our
process and impede our national goals. We have confirmed in our discussions
our thanks for the assistance of America and the international community in
general and we hope that they will support us even further while we go on
planning for the upcoming stage we seeks partnership with friendly
countries. Our success and the success of the endeavor is an international
success to bring stability and peace and security to our region.

In return we have also emphasized the role of Israel in the upcoming stage
whereby Israel must aware that withdrawal from Gaza should be a first step
in the Roadmap. Whereby immediately the political process will be resumed.
We in Palestine as leadership and people and authority we will not accept
utterly that the withdrawal from Gaza will be at the expense of our national
project. Israel must meet its obligations under the Roadmap and stop the
policy of expansion and annexation symbolized in settlements and building
the Wall. It's inconceivable that we talk about a Palestinian state that's
independent and at the same time Israel is taking more land of that state
especially in sacred Jerusalem, the upcoming capital of our state, the
Palestinian state that will be democratic too. Also it's inconceivable that
Israel will continue its repeated aggressions such as murders and invasions
and siege and arrests and detentions that impede our efforts to bring back
safety and security and calm to everyone.

Also, coordinating the withdrawal from Gaza from the beginning is a vital
thing, very vital, so that we can take that step smoothly without surprises
and so that we can prevent any ramifications of any shape and we look to
role of Dr. Rice in that endeavor. Our dear secretary friend, today while we
are working very hard to end the occupation and build the democratic
Palestinian model which embodies the challenges and sacrifices of our people
over decades, we look forward to working with the administration and people
of the United States of America - those people that share with us the belief
in liberty and ideals of democracy so that we can achieve our national dream
and the vision of President Bush of the Palestinian state next to the state
of Israel which I hope, God willing, our state will be a source of stability
and prosperity and a beacon of development and progress in our region and
for the whole world as well. Thank you, thank you Dr. Rice.

SECRETARY RICE: Thank you very much, Mr. President. Let me join President
Abbas first in condemning the terrible events that have taken place in
Egypt - in Sharm el-Sheikh and the surrounding areas and to express our
deepest condolences and sympathy and our solidarity with the government of
Egypt and the people of Egypt in this difficult time. Obviously, our present
thoughts are with the families of those who have been killed and with the
wounded that they may have a recovery. We continue, all of us in the
civilized world to face great challenges in terrorism and we continue to be
united in the view that terrorism must be confronted and that they will not
succeed in destroying our way of life.

I am honored to be here with President Abbas to discuss how best to
re-energize the road map to realize President Bush's vision of two
independent democratic and viable states: Palestine and Israel living side
by side in peace and security. We are committed to working for a better
future for the Palestinian people and to bringing lasting peace between the
parties so that Palestinians may live in peace and security and dignity and
in prosperity.

I want to take this opportunity to commend President Abbas and his
leadership as well as that of his government for their ongoing efforts to
enforce the rule of law in the West Bank and in Gaza.

These efforts demonstrate the Palestinian leadership's commitment to
ensuring security and tracking down those who perpetrate violent attacks
that only delay the achievement of a Palestinian state.

There is much work to be done, but President Abbas has taken these actions
with the active support of all those in the region and the international
community to support a future of peace. We, our partners in the Quartet, and
friends in the region like Egypt and Jordan remain committed to enhancing
Palestinian security capabilities and continuing to actively support of the
efforts of the Palestinians to live up to their international obligations to
fight terrorism

Important steps have been taken but much remains to be done to ensure that
areas vacated by Israel will not once again be used as bases for terrorist
actions.

We attach great importance to a successful continuation of the democratic
process that began in January with a free and fair Palestinian presidential
election, and it was followed up by successful municipal elections. The
Palestinian Legislative Council elections planned for later this year are
all indicators of growing Palestinian political reform and commitment to
democracy that will serve the interests of the Palestinian people as they
move forward towards statehood.

We also recognize that the economic revival of the Palestinian Territories
is a key element for peace, as we look for the creation of a bright and
optimistic outlook for a future Palestinian state. That means that when the
Israelis withdraw from Gaza it cannot be sealed or isolated area, with the
Palestinian people closed in after that withdrawal. We are committed to
connectivity between Gaza and the West Bank, and we are committed to
openness and freedom of movement for the Palestinian people.

At the G-8 Foreign Minister's meeting at Gleneagles, we discussed practical
ways in which the international community can help the Palestinians achieve
the bright future they so intensely want and so richly deserve.
Disengagement from Gaza and the West Bank is our best chance to move forward
on this agenda. We believe that we can re-energize the roadmap and achieve
the goals of a brighter future for the Palestinians.

The Israeli disengagement plan, if carried out in a manner that is
consistent with the roadmap, with co-ordination with the Palestinians, and
with appropriate support from the international community, has the potential
to move both parties closer to a peaceful resolution. The efforts of Jim
Wolfenson as Quartet Special Envoy for Gaza Disengagement, and U.S. Security
Coordinator General Ward have been invaluable to advancement of these
objectives. I suspect they will both be very busy in the next several weeks.
Thank you very much.

QUESTION (in Arabic): Dr. Rice, did you brief the Palestinian side and
President Abbas on any information regarding the disengagement in Gaza and
is it a fact that the Israelis are ready to give Palestinians such
information - especially that they are fully ready, the Israelis?

SECRETARY RICE: Thank you. Well, first of all we have agreement with the
parties that this needs to be a coordinated effort, a coordinated
withdrawal. There are meetings that are going on between Israelis and
Palestinians, including at the ministerial level, and the sharing of
information is taking place there, but to the degree that there needs to be
further sharing of information, we will encourage both sides to do so.

I have been raising, as a part of my efforts to support Jim Wolfensohn's
work, specific issues that the Palestinians have questions of the Israelis
and the Israelis have questions of the Palestinians, that's the way this
works, and we will continue to make sure that we're moving forward in a way
that both sides understand what is coming. There needs to be coordination
and there needs to be a sense of predictability because this is going to be
a very complicated operation for the Israelis, for the Palestinians, and I
think understanding between both sides of what is going to transpire is
extremely important.

QUESTION: Mr. President, you were quoted as saying that you are still
completely in the dark about details of the Gaza handover. My question to
you, sir, is have you heard anything today that gives you more concrete
details? And Madame Secretary, are you in a position to say that you would
be able to nail down these concrete details before this August 17th
deadline? And Madame Secretary, one other question, about the Egyptian
bombings: a couple of weeks ago you said defeating the insurgency in Iraq
would be a deathblow to terrorism as we know it. Since then we have had
bombings in Egypt, in Beirut, we've had in London, of course, my question
is, do all of these bombings outside of Iraq (inaudible) underlie the
administration's strategy that Iraq is a center for Middle East terror?

PRESIDENT ABBAS (in Arabic): As Dr. Rice has indicated regarding the
coordination between us and the Israelis, definitely there are contacts and
there are meetings, but there is also information which we haven't obtained
yet. And we spoke to Dr. Rice and we said that it's inevitable that we get
some information on the issue of the withdrawal and the nature of the
withdrawal and the places and deadlines also of things. We are following up
on the matter and I think that Dr. Rice will also follow up with the Israeli
side.

SECRETARY RICE: Thank you, yes, I will follow up on some issues of
information. There is information sharing going forward. There are questions
on both sides. We are about a month plus before the disengagement begins.
There's going to be pretty intensive activity between the two sides. I think
everybody wants to clarify what specific questions, and, so I hope to
clarify those specific questions.

As to the issue, Peter, of Baghdad, and the insurgency in Iraq, and of
course, the point was that we are looking to the day when the Iraqi people,
by having won their political will be able, in effect, to knock the legs off
the political foundation of the insurgency. And I think they're on their way
to doing that.

The way that is put best for some, actually I think it was General Abizaid,
but I can't be certain of that, who said that the end of the insurgency and
a free and democratic Iraq would be the beginning of the end for terrorism
as we know it. Now I am not going to say that every, we will ever be able to
prevent every terrorist incident. But if you look at the rise of this
particular kind of extremism that is spawning the attacks around the world
that created the circumstances of September 11th and continue to spawn these
attacks, the point is that there needs to be a different kind of condition
here in the Middle East so that extremism doesn't flourish, and so that
there are peaceful and free and prosperous people, circumstances which we
hope to achieve, who we do not believe will want to send their children off
to be suicide bombers. And so, yes, a democratic and peaceful Iraq that is
at peace with its neighbors that is very different from Saddam Hussein's
Iraq, would be a very important part of that -- and I think essential part
of that.

But it is also the case, as the president has said, when you have a
democratic, Palestinian state that is independent and living side by side
with Israel, you will also have an element of a very different kind of
Middle East. And so we're working on these issues piece by piece, it took a
long time for us to get to this situation, but we've seen this extremist
element come to be, and it is going to take a while to reverse it. But the
good news is that the people who seek freedom, people who seek peace, like
the President here and others with whom I've been meeting are determined
that we're not going to have extremists destroy the hopes and aspirations of
peace loving peoples.

QUESTION: Dr. Rice, first of all yesterday you were in Lebanon and you asked
that the decision 1559 must be put on the ground. Today, they are
surrounding the Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon. Is this what you asked
for? My second question is, you know, you knew from the Palestinians that
they don't have any information. You said that you are trying to do
something, but up until now nothing, and less it's than three weeks from the
withdrawal.

(In Arabic) Mr. President, have you received confirmation from the American
side regarding the wall and expanding the settlements especially around
occupied Jerusalem? Thank you.

SECRETARY RICE: Well if you don't mind, I'd like to speak to the second of
those questions first. We have been very clear about the Israeli obligations
under the Roadmap not to try and do anything that will prejudge a final
status outcome. We've expressed our deep concern about the route of the wall
particularly around Jerusalem and we have expressed the American policy on
settlement activity remains that it should stop. We will continue to work
towards exactly that.

Now as to what happened around the Lebanese camps, I've heard some reports -
I can assure that this is not something that the United States suggested by
any
means. I don't even actually know what has happened there. My discussions
with the Lebanese about 1559 were that they have an international obligation
that they've undertaken concerning 1559. They know they have that
obligation, they've reaffirmed that they have that obligation.

We also understand that this is going to take place in context of a Lebanese
political system that is evolving, a political effort to bring about
national reconciliation. I heard a good deal about that process yesterday.
We are confident that the Lebanese people want to be in a position where
there is a government - I think the President has probably put it best in
the Palestinian context - where there's one gun and one authority. That is
really the aim of 1559. The Lebanese are just beginning and we really do
believe that they have every intention of fulfilling their obligations, that
they'll do it in this political context and they need some time.

PRESDIENT ABBAS (in Arabic): As to that part of the question that was
answered by Dr. Rice I will confirm once again that the U.S. position which
we heard from President Bush and we heard it more than once from Dr. Rice
regarding settlements and the wall is what we adopt, and we feel that the
U.S. Administration is serious about talking and working on this issue.

QUESTION: Madame Secretary, first to you. We've heard you talk about
connectivity and about agreements but it's only 24 days away and many
Palestinians working under President Abbas and others say that they have no
answers yet on passages, no answers on how to get from Gaza to the West
Bank, certainly no answers on the long-run problems of airports, seaports
and other ways of getting in and out, and that Gaza will become a prison and
once isolate that way, it will only promote more violence, not less. What is
the United States, which has the biggest clout in all of this, to do? Are
you using your extraordinary influence with Israel sufficiently to get them
to provide more answers to the Palestinians on these really specific and
necessary questions? And to you, President Abbas, with all due respect, isn'
t there the likelihood of more violence if you don't get the political tools
to enable you to carry out your promises about cracking down on violence,
particularly in the weeks to come.

SECRETARY RICE: Andrea, let me put the point a little bit differently. The
Palestinians need to answer to the Israelis and the Israelis need to answer
to the Palestinians - this is not a one-way street. One reason that I've
been in Jerusalem and now here in Ramallah is that both sides need to
provide answers to each other. That is the effort that is being facilitated
by Mr. Wolfensohn, that is the issue that is being facilitated by General
Ward. We are talking to both parties - that's why I'm here, by the way , is
to help bring the weight of the United States.

I think you want to be a little careful of how you talk about this. It's
about one side providing answers to the other. This is a coordinated
withdrawal in which the two sides both have responsibilities to make this
coordinated withdrawal work. And therefore, what I'm doing is making sure
that the Israelis and the Palestinians understand where the United States
stands on various issues, where necessary trying to facilitate an answer if
one does not appear self-evident to each of the two parties. I'm trying to
help Jim Wolfensohn with that process.

But there are discussions, meetings that have been going on between the two
sides and that continue to go on between the two sides and I think that they
're making some process. Now I think we can close many of theses issues very
expeditiously with enough will and perhaps a change in view here or change
in view there. But it's going to take both sides, and not just one side, to
make these decisions so we can move forward on a coordinated withdrawal.

This is a coordinated withdrawal, that's what we've agreed. It's not just
the Israelis leaving and handing it over to the Palestinians - it's a
coordinated withdrawal.

These are relationships and mechanisms that have been intertwined now for
more than 30 years. And so it's not surprising that it takes some effort and
some time and some difficult decisions on both sides to figure out exactly
how Gaza is going to operate.

The principle that the United States is operating on is that Gaza is going
to be Palestinian and that means that the Palestinian people have to
experience freedom of movement in Gaza. It is also the case that there has
to be a link between Gaza and the West Bank and it has to be the case, which
we've been saying for many months, that there needs to be greater freedom of
movement in the West Bank itself. Operating from those three principles, I
think we will come to solutions on many of these issues.

PRESIDENT ABBAS (in Arabic): We are not telling a secret if we say that our
objective is the unity of the Palestinian Authority and unity of the law
unity of legitimate weapons and political pluralism. This is what we always
say. These are the principles we are seeking to achieve, too. We are at the
threshold of the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and we are definitely in dire
need for international support, whether on economic and financial and civic
issues - also on security issues, as well. This is no surprise. We have
asked the international community to help us with all that so that we can
achieve an ideal situation on the Palestinian land between now until, God
willing, the state is established.

QUESTION: Madame Secretary, just a follow up. You've said that, the
Palestinians have said that they don't have all the answers. You've just
suggested that they've not provided answers to the Israelis on some
questions. Could you be specific?

SECRETARY RICE: Andrea, these are negotiations and discussions. I'm not
going to have them in the press. I'm going to have them with Minister Peres
and Minister Dahlan, with Minister. Moafaz and Minister Yusif, Minister
Dahlan and Minister Moafaz - that's how I'm going to have these discussions.
I can assure you that I know the questions to which the Israelis need
answers and I know the questions to which the Palestinians need answers.

I can also assure you that people are working very, very hard to make sure
that this withdrawal is a success, because the very good thing about this
time, and I can sense it here, being with the Palestinians and having been
with the Israelis, is the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority
know that they both have an enormous stake in the success of this withdrawal
from Gaza in a way that accelerates progress on the Roadmap rather than
throwing it back. Because both sides are seriously committed to making this
work, we are working in at atmosphere that is, to my experience in the time
I've been working with these issues, very different than in the past. These
two are partners and there's a lot of mistrust overcome from many, many
years of difficulty but they've recognized that they're partners and we're
going to strengthen that partnership. Thank you.
###
2005/T12-14