Visiting U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney claimed on Sunday that "terror and rockets" against Israel killed not only innocent civilians, but also hopes for a Palestinian state.
The establishment of a Palestinian state "needs more efforts and painful concessions by both sides," Cheney said at a joint press conference held in this West Bank town with Palestinian President Madmoud Abbas.
"President George W. Bush is the first U.S. president who adopts the principle of establishing an independent Palestinian state living in peace and able to live," Cheney said. "Our administration is committed to achieving this goal." Cheney arrived in Ramallah earlier in the day and held talks with Abbas. Cheney will later meet interim Palestinian Prime Minister Sallam Fayyad.
Cheney is visiting the West Bank on his latest leg of a regional trip which has taken him to Iraq, Oman, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia and Israel. The last leg of his 10-day tour will be Turkey.
For his part, Abbas told reporters that he highly evaluated U.S. efforts and Bush's commitments to the two-state solution and his insistence to reach an agreement on final status issues. "Peace and security in the region can't be achieved though settlements' expansion, erecting roadblocks and military offensive on Gaza or incursions and arrests in the West Bank," said Abbas. He condemned rocket attacks from Gaza at Israel, saying that "we believe in a real peace that puts an end to this conflict that creates tension in the whole region."
"The needed peace is the peace that treats all permanent status issues, including Jerusalem and the refugees ... If peace is achieved, it will be able to defeat the powers of extremism and terrorism," said Abbas.
Source:Xinhua
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