US resolve is vital to peace

BARELY a week after the firstIsrael-Palestinian summit of his tenure, US President George W Bush is under pressure to show his mettle in containing the fallout from fresh Middle East violence and implementing the US-backed ‘roadmap’ to peace.

An Israeli attempt to eliminate a prominent Hamas leader in Gaza on Tuesday was followed yesterday by a suicide attack on a bus in central Jerusalem that left at least 16 dead. Only an hour after the latter attack, an Israeli retaliatory strike left six fatalities in Gaza.

The violence vindicates US statements that the attack on Abdel Aziz Rantissi did not help efforts by Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas toward dialogue with Islamic extremists.

“The question is how do you implement the roadmap, if this kind of testing continues, even if you have the full persuasive powers of the US behind it?” asked Judith Kipper, a Middle East expert at the US Council on Foreign Relations.

“Everything in the Mideast peace process has always depended on the resolve of the president,” Ms Kipper said.

Middle East commentators know, however, that progress in the peace process cannot be achieved without White House determination behind it.

“So far, the resolve is here,” Ms Kipper said. “If it will be here in six months, I don’t know.”

The roadmap, released at the end of April, was drafted by the European Union, the United Nations, the United States and Russia and lays out steps to end the violence, revive peace talks and create a Palestinian state by 2005.

To move forward with the blueprint for peace, the Bush administration needs to deliver a balanced message for the benefit of both sides in the conflict coupled with measured doses of criticism and condemnation.

Mr Bush condemned the Jerusalem bus bombing attack “in the strongest possible terms”, in statements made in Chicago. On Tuesday, he did not hide his irritation with Israel Prime Minister Ariel Sharon after the attack against Rantissi.

The Washington Post noted that Mr Bush had been more severe with Mr Sharon than he was against the Palestinian leadership in the wake of a Hamas strike killing five Israelis, including four soldiers in the Gaza Strip.

His public addresses, however, indicate Mr Bush will not back off on the process. “I am determined to keep the process on the road to peace, and I believe, with responsible leadership by all parties, we can bring peace to the region,” Mr Bush said yesterday.

“And I emphasise, all parties must behave responsibly to achieve that objective,” he added in comments made before the Jerusalem suicide bombing.

Mr Bush passed on the message to Israel and the Palestinians via hisNational Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice and Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, William Burns.

“Bush wants results,” said Mary-Jane Deeb, a Middle East specialist at the American University in Washington.

Teams of US experts recently dispatched to the region by the US administration are still charged with getting constructive progress in the situation. During the Aqaba summit, Mr Bush, Mr Sharon and Mr Abbas had announced their determination to implement the road ap.

On Monday, Mr Bush said he was still “optimistic”.

“He doesn’t like, once he is committed, people who contradict him,” Ms Kipper added. She said she expected Mr Bush to continue to make this clear to the Israelis and Palestinians.