Press Availability With Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas

Secretary Condoleezza Rice
Ramallah
January 14, 2007
www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2007/78693.htm

PRESIDENT ABBAS: (Via interpreter) In the name of Allah the Most Merciful,
the Compassionate, I am happy to welcome Dr. Rice in our country once again
here in Ramallah today, and I thank her always for all of the efforts
exerted to make peace in this country possible and achievable.

We have discussed today with Dr. Rice several topics, on top of which lies
the peace process, and that it is indeed to provide the appropriate
circumstances and conditions to revive the peace process so that it has a
meaning and leads to ending the Israeli occupation that commenced in 1967,
as stated in the roadmap and achieving President Bush's vision by
establishing an independent, contiguous, viable Palestinian state with
Jerusalem as its capital living side by side with Israel in security and
stability.

In order to give the political process the opportunity it deserves and to
regain its credibility and the trust of the region's people therein, it is
primordial to immediately halt all Israeli colonial activities in the
Palestinian territories, stop the separation and expansion wall and put an
end to the siege and closure in its various forms imposed upon our people
and planned. It is also primordial to release our prisoners in the
occupation's prisons and stop the policy of incursions as read as collective
punishment, the last of which was the incursion into Ramallah and the
killing of four innocent Palestinian citizens with tens injured along the
damage in property.

We have stressed on the importance of continuing the consensus truce in the
Gaza Strip to expand it to the West Bank, considering that including this
truce to all the Palestinian territories is a guarantee for maintaining it.
And along that truce and because we are committed to maintaining the truce,
I would like to commend the important efforts made by Egypt to ensure the
release of Palestinian prisoners and the Israeli soldiers gradually.

We have also noted to Minister Rice our decision to end any temporary or
transitional solutions including a state with temporary borders because we
do not believe it to be a realistic choice that can be built upon. We have
also emphasized the importance of active and continuous mobilization by the
various regional and international parties to put an end to the conflict and
its repercussions to achieve a durable and just peace and all of the
repercussions of six decades of conflict to achieve a comprehensive, just
and a durable peace at all levels and in all tracks so that the region and
its people will enjoy peace and stability.

Also we explained to Dr. Rice our efforts to form a national unity
government with a program capable of lifting the siege and boosting the
peace process through which we will regain control over our occupied land
and establish our independent state, regain all of our national legal rights
which are recognized by the whole world as our right. And we hope and we
endeavor to achieve this as soon as possible so this would lead to a happy
end by which the (inaudible) government will be established, otherwise we
will go back to the people and we will hold legislative and presidential
elections, early elections.

We have also discussed the meeting I had with the Israeli Prime Minister
Olmert. It was a good meeting in which we tackled various issues that
concern the future of our peoples and peace, and we are waiting for the
application of our agreements. We have also stressed on the importance of
the Palestinian national unity and our absolute refusal to solve any
disputes regardless of what the nature they are with violence or to reach
internal domestic violence. Thus, we will do our utmost to impose the rule
of law and restrict carrying arms to the legal security forces who abide by
the official policy.

Again, on my behalf and on behalf of the Palestinian people, I welcome you,
Dr. Rice, and I hope her efforts will bring fruit.

SECRETARY RICE: Thank you very much, Mr. President. Thank you again for
welcoming me here to Ramallah to your headquarters here. We've had a very
fruitful discussion. We have had a chance to review a number of issues,
including some of the questions concerning movement and access. We have had
a chance also to review the results of the successful meeting between
President Abbas and Prime Minister Olmert, and I've pledged that we will do
everything that we can to help build on the success of that meeting so that
we maintain the momentum that was created by that very important meeting.

I came here to Ramallah as I am going around the Middle East to say to
everyone that the United States is deeply committed to finding ways to
accelerate progress on the roadmap. The roadmap, after all, is the
internationally recognized guide to the establishment of a two-state
solution and we should fulfill all of its terms.

I am also here to talk about how we can build on the momentum that is
currently in Palestinian-Israeli relations to look at the political horizon
and to begin to show to the Palestinian people how we might move toward the
establishment of a Palestinian state, something that President Bush has
clearly set out as an objective of American policy all the way back in 2001.

I want to say to you, Mr. President, as I will say to others, that I have
heard loud and clear the call for deeper American engagement in these
processes. The United States is absolutely committed to helping to find a
solution where Israelis and Palestinians can live in security, in which they
can live in peace and in which they can live in democracy. These are our
goals and I've heard again the call that America deepen its involvement, and
you will have my commitment to do precisely that. President Bush sends his
regards as well.

And I want everyone to know, particularly the Palestinian people, how much
we admire the leadership of President Abbas as a leader of the Palestinian
people. I know of the struggles, Mr. President, to improve the circumstances
of daily life for the Palestinian people, particularly in the difficult
circumstances now in which there are internal conflicts among the
Palestinian people. But I want you to know that our desire is for the
Palestinian people to be able to live in unity and in democracy and in peace
with a government that can get the respect and the support of the
international community. That is something that the Palestinian people
deserve. Thank you very much.

QUESTION: (Via interpreter) Dr. Rice, why have you come to Ramallah,
especially under circumstances that speak of a state with temporary borders?
Or is the visit, like your previous visit, is just for listening?

President Mahmoud Abbas talks of access, national dialogue. To what extent
have you reached an understanding?

SECRETARY RICE: Well, first of all, it's not a bad thing to listen because
sometimes you hear what parties need. I just want to say, you know, there
have been many failed attempts to resolve the conflict between Palestinians
and Israelis and to make progress, and we need to learn that it is important
to listen and to talk and to understand where we're going. And we've made a
lot of progress over recent years in particular because of the hard work of
President Abbas and we are going to continue to press forward.

I have also heard the President today about how he sees the end state. I've
heard how he sees the roadmap and how to get to that end state. And so I
think it's not a bad thing to listen. But you're absolutely right, it's also
important to act and we'll look for ways to act.

PRESIDENT ABBAS: (Via interpreter) Regarding the efforts to form a
government of national unity, you know that we have been exerting tremendous
efforts over the past six months to come with a government capable of
lifting the siege. When I say capable of lifting the siege, it is known that
there are requirements that must be met by this government. We want the
world and all of the countries of the world to lift the siege imposed upon
us and this government must be in conciliation with the Palestinian
legitimacy and with the resolutions of the Arab summit and international
legitimacy.

These efforts, as I said, have been halted now. There are new efforts. There
are many who want to make efforts on their own. We do not object. The
important thing is to achieve results, which is to form a national unity
government. I cannot say now that we have achieved the tangible thing
because we still -- unless we achieve all, we will not be speaking of
anything.

QUESTION: Madame Secretary, can you be more specific about exactly what the
proposed $85 million U.S. grant for the Palestinian security services would
be used for and what guarantees or controls you envision to make sure that
that money is not used, for example, to settle old scores?

And for the President, would you prefer that this money go primarily to
purchase weapons or to arrange training for the forces, and what guarantees
can you offer that the money will not be misused?

SECRETARY RICE: Well, Anne, let me make the point first that the American
contribution is a part of an international effort to train and equip the
Palestinian forces. It has been foreseen going all the way back to Oslo,
certainly in the roadmap, that there would be professional, unified
Palestinian security forces that would be trained and equipped, and the
expectation was that the international community would take that
responsibility. And so this is a part of that effort.

General Dayton has been working with his international colleagues to develop
a specific plan for that training and equipping of the security forces, and
it would be according to that plan. But let me be very clear: It's not as if
tomorrow there will be a U.S. contribution should the Congress approve it of
X million dollars; rather, this is a train-and-equip program that will
unfold over a period of time. I am sure that President Abbas and his people
will want to be attentive to the requirements of the plan, including
attentive to concerns about human rights which are there in all of our
train-and-equip programs around the world.

And so again, let me emphasize it's a part of an international plan, this is
not a U.S. plan; and secondly, that it is a classic train-and-equip program
that is tailored obviously to the circumstances of the Palestinians, but it
will unfold over a period of time according to a plan that General Dayton
has worked out.

PRESIDENT ABBAS: (Via interpreter) Regarding the question of arms for
Palestinian security forces, I would like to say when we returned to our
homeland there was an agreement signed between us and Israelis about the
weapons that will be carried by the Palestinian security forces to fulfill
their role. However, unfortunately, in a period of time and for many reasons
these weapons were destroyed. Additionally, the infrastructure of the
security forces was also demolished, and here we ask for weapons. We don't
want to purchase weapons -- not in a legal or unlegal way. We achieve
weapons from our friends upon Israeli agreement and approval. We do not let
weapons enter unless it is in a lawful manner. It is the way we started. We
deal in total transparency with this issue. We have a need and we said that
we needed these weapons and we ask that the security forces be provided with
these weapons so that it will be compensated for the losses not only in
terms of weapons but also various transportation and communication devices
and all of the infrastructure which security forces need in order to impose
security and the rule of law and order on our land. But be confident that we
will not misuse any aid that we receive from any party.

QUESTION: Madame Secretary, you met yesterday with Avigdor Lieberman. Can
you confirm that he told you that the major military operation in Gaza is
only a question of time and that in that case a NATO force would have to be
deployed? And also, don't you think you take the risk having a meeting of
being seen as supporting or giving credit to his extremist views?

And Mr. President, did you receive any support from the Secretary to the
national unity government you are trying to form?

SECRETARY RICE: Sylvie, I am obviously not going to discuss what was said in
meetings that I've had with members of the Israeli Government, and Mr.
Lieberman is a member of the Israeli Government and frankly I'm going to
enlist the support of anybody I can to try and move forward a Palestinian
state living at peace side by side with Israel. That is the goal here.

And I think we really need to stay focused not on issues of what might
happen in Gaza if we don't -- if the situation there doesn't improve. The
President and his team are trying to improve the situation and we're trying
to support that. But ultimately, my work is going to be best targeted, I
think, in these next months on trying to accelerate progress on the roadmap,
which after all would lead us then to a Palestinian state, and to helping
the Palestinians and the Israelis think through the political horizon. And
that's what I'm focused on, but it's a good thing to hear from as many
people as possible.

PRESIDENT ABBAS: (Via interpreter)The position of the United States is known
regarding the government of national unity. It is repeated in every occasion
whether in the declarations made by persons or from the government of the
U.S., also in the Quartet, and I don't think they need that we repeat this
position at every occasion. We know it and we understand it very well and
we're trying to have good relations with every country in the world.

QUESTION: Dr. Rice, what plans did you come with here as we can see that you
are here to listen to both sides, Palestinians and Israelis? Don't you think
it's only because of the issue of Iraq and Iran you are here so we can see
also here the plan of (inaudible)? And Mr. Olmert promised President Arafat
that he will give back the money, he will release the prisoners and nothing
happened, so what do you think will go on?

(In Arabic.)

SECRETARY RICE: First of all, I have offered with President Abbas to do what
I can to continue to move -- help them move forward on what was agreed
between the President and Prime Minister Olmert. This is my eighth time in
the Middle East as Secretary and my third since September, so obviously the
impetus and the impulse to come here comes out of an understanding that we
need to make progress here in the Middle East.

I remember very well that it was a little over a year ago, actually it was
on my birthday -- I won't tell you which one -- that I was here to negotiate
the agreement on movement and access. So I've been very involved with the
Palestinians, with the Israelis, since I became Secretary and I expect to
try to deepen that involvement. But of course, this conflict, this issue,
the establishment of a Palestinian state, should be pursued on its own
merits, not because of anything else, not because of Iran, not because of
Iraq, not because of anything.

The Palestinian people have waited a long time for their own state. The
Israeli people have waited a long time to live in security and peace with
their neighbors. And if there is anything that I can do and that the
President can do to finally realize that day when the Palestinian people --
who everybody understands to be an entrepreneurial people, a people who are
predisposed toward democracy and tolerance -- for the Palestinians to have
their own state that they can live in security and peace with Israel and
that Israel can therefore have a secure and a democratic neighbor, why
wouldn't we want to do that? And it's on its own merits, not because of
anything else.

PRESIDENT ABBAS: (Via interpreter) Regarding the first part of your
question, Madame Secretary has answered. She has spoken eloquently on that.
For the second part, this is preempting events.

SECRETARY RICE: Thank you.

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