US President George W. Bush said that Israel's siege of Yasser Arafat's headquarters was "not helpful" to enacting Palestinian political and security reforms that are needed for peace.
But he stopped short of calling on Israel to withdraw, and defended the US decision to abstain from a unanimous UN Security Council resolution demanding Israel end the operation as sending "a message" to both sides, AFP reported.
"Our abstention should have sent a message that we hope that all parties stay on the path to peace," Bush said as he met with his Cabinet to discuss the US economy, the federal budget, and possible military action against Iraq.
Bush said the Israeli siege was "not helpful" to bringing new leadership to the Palestinians. "I thought the actions the Israelis took were not helpful in terms of the establishment and development of the institutions necessary for a Palestinian state to emerge," said the president.
Bush also cited "progress" towards reforming Palestinian political and security institutions, something he says is required if the Palestinians are eventually to live in an independent state at peace with Israel.
"We're making progress on the security front, we're making progress on the political reform front. We're making progress to make it clear that if there is to be a peaceful settlement, the Palestinians must be give the opportunity to bring forth leadership which is willing to work towards peace," he said.
Sporadic pro-Arafat demonstrations continued Tuesday despite Israel's curfews in the West Bank towns it seized about three months ago.
In Gaza Strip, more than 30,000 people filled the streets for the funerals of nine Palestinians killed in a massive Israeli raid overnight.
Marching among the huge crowd were hundreds of masked gunmen from nationalist and Islamic factions, who fired their assault rifles in the air and vowed through loudspeakers to exact revenge against Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
Representatives of Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the Al Aqsa Martyrs Bridages, an armed Fatah offshoot, said they would increase their suicide bombings in response to the latest raid. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
