The caretaker Palestinian government led by Prime-Minister-designate Salam Fayyad on Tuesday cautiously welcomed U.S. President George W. Bush's speech over the long-running Arab-Israeli conflict.
"The government has received the U.S. President's speech with watchful optimism though it was a repetition of his vision that has not been met since it was declared five years ago," said the new government in a statement.
The Palestinian government also praised the American readiness to resume direct financial assistance to the Palestinian Authority, which has been cut off since Hamas won the elections and formed its first government in 2006.
Amid growing isolation at home over his Iraq policy, Bush, in a televised speech on Monday, reiterated his vision of an Israeli and a Palestinian statehood existing in peace alongside each other and urged the Jewish state to stop unilateral measures in the Palestinian territories.
He also announced new financial assistance to the Palestinians and called for a new international conference this fall in a bid to revive the stalled Middle East peace process.
In a seemingly balanced gesture, Bush prodded both Israelis and the Palestinians to take actions.
"The Palestinian government must arrest terrorists, dismantle their infrastructure and confiscate illegal weapons as the road map requires," Bush said.
"Israel has a clear path," he said, urging the Israeli government to continue to release the Palestinian tax revenues it has withheld and take actions to remove unauthorized outposts and stop settlement expansion.
Moreover, he accused the Islamic Hamas movement of "betraying the Palestinian people" with a takeover in Gaza and continuing to be devoted to "extremism."
Economic conditions in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip are worsening as Israel sealed off the border crossings after Hamas' violent takeover of Gaza in mid June.
Source: Xinhua
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