(White House) Responding to a question about reports of a cease-fire by the Palestinians, President Bush said Wednesday, "I'll believe it when I see it, knowing the history of the terrorists in the Middle East. But the true test for Hamas and terrorist organizations is the complete dismantlement of their terrorist networks, their capacity to blow up the peace process....In order for there to be peace in the Middle East, we must see organizations such as Hamas dismantled, and then we'll have peace." "There are three parties involved directly in the territories there. There's the Israeli government. I believe the Israeli people want peace, and I believe their government when they say they want a peaceful state, living side by side with Israel. Secondly, there are the people of the Palestinian world who are tired of failed leadership, tired of terrorism destroying their hopes, tired of living in poverty, and they, too, want a peaceful state. And then there are the terrorists, like Hamas, who do not want a peaceful state, and they're willing to use terrorist means to destroy it. In order for there to be peace, Hamas must be dismantled."
2003-06-26 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive