31 December 2008

World Must Stay Engaged to Stop Gaza Violence, U.S. Says

President Bush, Secretary Rice continue efforts to achieve cease-fire

President Bush and Secretary Rice have been actively reaching out to world leaders to help bring about a cease-fire in Gaza.

By Stephen Kaufman
Staff Writer

Washington — U.S. leaders are continuing their outreach to leaders in the Middle East and the international community in an effort to reach a cease-fire between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas organization, as well as to avoid civilian casualties.

State Department acting deputy spokesman Gordon Duguid said December 31 that the United States and the international community are not daunted by the task of bringing a halt to the violence between the two sides.

“What we see is a need for the international community to stay engaged and to try to bring about a cease-fire as quickly as possible in order to stop the violence and try and get the different parties to resolve their differences through political means,” he said.

On December 30, Rice spoke three times with United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, twice with Jordanian Foreign Minister Salaheddin Al-Bashir, and with Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

“We’re looking for all our friends and allies in the region to use whatever good offices they have … with Hamas or with other … Palestinian organizations to try and help communicate the international community’s desire that the violence stop,” Duguid said. The United States does not directly communicate with Hamas, which it has designated as a terrorist organization.

President Bush also reached out to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on December 30 and urged a cease-fire that would be respected by both sides. He also expressed his concern over the humanitarian situation in Gaza, according to White House deputy press secretary Gordon Johndroe.

Those calls were in addition to Secretary Rice’s participation in a December 30 conference call on behalf of the United States with representatives from the United Nations, European Union and Russia, collectively known as the Quartet.

QUARTET STATEMENT CONSISTENT WITH U.S. POSITION

Following the conversation, the Quartet issued a joint statement calling for “an immediate cease-fire that would be fully respected,” and for all parties to “address the serious humanitarian and economic needs in Gaza and to take necessary measures to ensure the continuous provision of humanitarian supplies."

Duguid said the language in the statement is consistent with the previously stated U.S. position on the crisis.

“A cease-fire that is fully respected and obtained as quickly as possible is exactly what the president and Secretary Rice have called for. A fully respected cease-fire is one that is sustainable and durable. The Quartet supports this point,” he said.

The Bush administration has said it does not want to see a cease-fire “that is called immediately and then immediately violated with rocket attacks by Hamas,” which Duguid said “was the case previously” before the current conflict.

Humanitarian aid is currently able to get into Gaza through the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, but Duguid said more aid is needed and both sides should allow the free flow of aid “regardless of a cease-fire.”

He also repeated U.S. calls on all sides to try to avoid civilian casualties. “Because civilians are at risk, we are working as hard as we can to reach a cease-fire. This needs to be stopped and a political dialogue used to resolve the difference between the two sides.”