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AL Urges U.S. to Materialize Support for Establishing Palestinian State
A senior official of the Arab League (AL) Monday called on the U.S. administration to take concrete steps to turn into reality its endorsement of an independent Palestinian state.
"The statements by U.S. President George W. Bush, in which he said he supports a Palestinian state, is a good initial step that has to be activated by an official American declaration," said Said Kamal, assistant secretary-general of the AL, quoted by Egypt's state-run MENA news agency.
He warned of the possibility of marginalizing the Palestinian issue or even leaving it to "be a prey" to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's aggressive policy, in the light of the fact that the world is preoccupied by combating terrorism.
"The U.S. should officially declare that its current campaign against terrorism would not involve a military strike against any Arab country and would try to conduct dialog with Iraq instead of threats," Kamal said.
Early this month, Bush told reporters in Washington that creating a Palestinian state has "always" been on the U.S. agenda regarding settling the Mideast crisis.
"The idea of a Palestinian state has always been part of a vision, so long as the right to Israel to exist is respected," he stated.
As its first reaction to the U.S. stance, the AL has praised Bush's statement as a "step in the right direction," while expecting the U.S. to intervene actively to help prevent the situation in the occupied Palestinian territories from further deterioration.
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