By Jerusalem Newswire Editorial Staff
Jan 20, 2005
During her Senate confirmation hearing Tuesday, US Secretary of State-designate Condoleezza Rice vowed to expend “enormous effort” on helping to resolve the Israeli-Arab conflict by bringing about the establishment of a Palestinian Arab state.
Rice said the recent election of Yasser Arafat’s longtime deputy, Mahmoud Abbas, coupled with the formation of a new Israeli coalition bent on uprooting Jewish communities signaled a “moment of opportunity” in the stalled peace process.
While she had no criticism for the Sharon government, Rice fingered the PA’s failure to combat terror as the reason that after more than a decade of peace efforts the conflict continues to rage.
“We've pressed very hard for the Palestinians to take on terrorism because we're not going to get very far if there is terrorism from the Palestinian militants,” said Rice.
She explained that for the PA, combating “Palestinian” terror did not necessitate civil war.
“The construction of unified Palestinian security forces that are accountable to the Palestinian leadership and are not, in effect, armed gangs is probably one of our most important tasks.”
After that is accomplished, Rice asserted, it is a simple issue of isolating and disarming “those who are unwilling to pursue the aspirations of the Palestinian people [sic] through peaceful means.”
Rice also focused attention on President George W. Bush’s 2002 demand for sweeping democratic reforms in the Palestinian Authority.
“One of the things that I think we didn't pay enough attention to in the past is the development of democratic institutions in the Palestinian territories,” Rice noted.
For its part, Israel must allow the “Palestinians” to form a state that is not “so broken up that it can't function as a state,” said Rice, suggesting the Jews may soon be pressured to give up more of their ancient heartland than previously expected.
Turning to Israel’s neighbors, Rice blasted the Arab world for its duplicitous approach to the conflict.
“The Arab states … can't incite violence against Israel on the one hand and call for peace and a two-state solution on the other,” she pointed out.
The US, she said, has still “got work to do with them.”