armed uprising against Israel, as his Israeli counterpart Ariel Sharon expressed support for Palestinian statehood.
They made the comments after their first ever joint meeting with United States President George W. Bush, held in a palace overlooking the spectacular Gulf of Aqaba in Jordan.
"The armed Intefada must end, and we must use and resort to peaceful means in our quest to end the occupation and the suffering of Palestinians and Israelis and to establish the Palestinian state," said Prime Minister Abbas.
Establishment of a Palestinian state living in peace with Israel is the goal of the "road map," the new peace plan drafted by the United States, the European Union, Russia and the United Nations.
"Israel, like others, has lent its strong support for President Bush’s vision expressed on June 24, 2002, of two states, Israel and the Palestinian state, living side by side in peace and security, " stressed Israeli Prime Minister Sharon.
PALESTINIAN STATE
He said it was "in Israel’s interest not to govern the Palestinians, but for the Palestinians to govern themselves" in their own state. "A democratic Palestinian state," he added, "fully at peace with Israel will promote the long-term security and well-being of Israel as a Jewish state."
But while promising that the region "will be totally demilitarized and will be the home of the Palestinian diaspora" Sharon made clear that "Palestinian refugees will not be allowed to settle in Israel." Israel has repeatedly said it would not recognize the so–called Palestinian "right of return," for fear that it could wipe out the Jewish majority in Israel.
As they stood-side-by-side pledging to search for peace, President Bush was seen listening to the two prime ministers, and later remarked that progress was being made.
SHARED HOLY LAND
"All here today now share a goal: the Holy Land must be shared between the state of Palestine and the state of Israel, living in peace with each other and with every nation in the Middle East," he noted.
At the Aqaba summit, Israeli Prime Minister Sharon offered a first tentative step on the sensitive issue of settlements. He said he would dismantle Israeli outposts in the West Bank and Gaza set up without government approval.
"I want to reiterate that Israel is a society governed by the rule of law. Thus, we will immediately, begin to remove unauthorized outposts," he promised.
However the developments will be closely watched by the U.S. as Bush appointed two top foreign policy advisers and a veteran American diplomat, to vigorously push his Middle East peace plan and monitor its day-to-day implementation.
COMMITMENTS
"All sides have made important commitments and the United States will strive to see these commitments fulfilled," the Reuters news agency quoted Bush as saying after meeting the Israeli and Palestinian prime ministers.
"I’ve also asked Secretary of State Colin Powell and National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice to make this cause a matter of the highest priority," Bush said.
He selected John Wolf, a 33-year veteran U.S. diplomat, to lead an American monitoring team to track Israeli and Palestinian steps to carry out the "road map," which envisions a Palestinian state by 2005. Wolf was expected to head a seven to 10 person "monitoring" team based in Jerusalem, Reuters reported.
Another important outcome of the summit was that it confirmed Abbas as the true leader of the Palestinian people, Israeli officials said. The United States and Israel have sidelined Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, accusing him of links to terrorism.
