THE US: President Bush was unwilling to back Arab demands to set a specific timetable for Palestinian statehood when he met Egypt's President, Mr Hosni Mubarak, at Camp David on Saturday. But Mr Bush said it was important to press ahead with reforming Palestinian institutions.
Mr Bush today meets the Israeli Prime Minister, Mr Ariel Sharon, in the White House as the US struggles to come up with a framework plan for peace. His refusal to set a timetable for the recognition of a Palestinian state will disappoint moderate Arab leaders, who have been pressing for a specific timeframe as a means of reassuring Palestinian militants that there are tangible benefits to the process.
And while they back reform of the Palestinian institutions, they suspect that such reform is seen by the US and Israelis as less a precursor to a Palestinian state and more a means of sidelining the Palestinian leader, Mr Yasser Arafat.
Speaking to journalists after their meeting, Mr Bush said: "We're not ready to lay down a specific calendar, except for the fact that we've got to get started quickly, soon, so that we can seize the moment.
"We need to start immediately in building the institutions necessary for the emergence of a Palestinian state," Mr Bush added.
Mr Mubarak said the violence "will continue forever" unless the Palestinian people "feel that there is hope for peace and there is something to show that peace is coming".
Of Mr Arafat he urged: "Look, we should give this man a chance. Such a chance will prove that he is going to deliver or not. If he's going to deliver, I think everybody will support him. If he's not going to deliver his people will tell him that."
Mr Bush was blunt on the Arafat issue. "Chairman Arafat, as far as I'm concerned, is not the issue. The issue is whether or not the Palestinian people can have a hopeful future.
"I have constantly said I am disappointed in his leadership. I think he's let the Palestinian people down. And so, therefore, my focus is on the reforms necessary to help the Palestinians."
Ahead of the meeting, a senior administration official said the US was working on a plan to put to the parties about how to advance the process of dialogue.
The administration is not currently inclined to make that a detailed proposal on issues such as the fate of refugees, Jerusalem, and the settlements, but may yet be persuaded to urge the setting of a time-frame for a Palestinian state.
