Bush: Well, Mr. Prime Minister, thanks for coming. It's --
I've been looking forward to this visit.
Last time we were together, we had a long and serious discussion about what we can do together to keep the peace. This visit comes, obviously, during a period of great concern for the world about what’s taking place in Gaza, and so it’s a timely visit.
I'm looking forward to our discussions about how we can promote a common vision, a vision that speaks to the hopes and aspirations of the Palestinian people and a vision that speaks to the security of Israel.
I'm looking forward to sharing with the Prime Minister the results of a phone call I had yesterday with President Abbas. He is the President of all the Palestinians. He has spoken out for moderation. He is a voice that is a reasonable voice amongst the extremists in your neighborhood.
You also come at an important moment because there is yet again another moment for the world to see the great challenges we face in the 21st century. We face extremists and radicals who use violence and murder as a tool to achieve objectives. And it's a chance, Mr. Prime Minister, for us to work on our bilateral relations, but also work on a common strategy to fight off those extremists and to promote an alternative ideology based upon human liberty and the human condition and freedom. And it’s a great challenge. It’s exciting to be in office during this period. It can be difficult for those of us who’ve been given the great honor of serving our countries, but it’s an exciting moment. And I’m looking forward to working with a strong leader, a man committed to the security and prosperity of his country and at the same time committed to try to work the conditions necessary for peace. And so I’m glad to welcome a friend back to the Oval Office, and proud you're back.
Olmert: Thank you very much, President. I am honored and delighted after almost half a year to again be a guest of yours, Mr. President, in the White House to discuss some of the current issues with you. As you have said already, this is a very special time. Very dramatic things happened lately. I’m sure that many people in the world were astounded by the brutality and cruelty and viciousness of the Hamas murderers who killed so many Palestinians in such a way. We, who live in the Middle East, are perhaps somewhat less surprised, but not less outraged, by these events.
And I entirely share with you, Mr. President, the vision that, even under such circumstances, what we hope to do is to try and find opportunities for the future that lie in the situation, and I'm absolutely determined that there is an opportunity.
And like you, I want to strengthen the moderates and to cooperate with President Abu Mazen, who is the President of all Palestinians, perhaps the only person who was widely elected in a democratic manner by all the Palestinian people. And I am going to make every possible effort to cooperate with him and to look forward to see how things can be worked jointly in order to provide the Palestinians with a real, genuine chance for a state of their own – of fulfilling your vision, Mr. President, which I share, of the two-state solution and at the same time making sure that there is security for the people of Israel. And the people of Israel deserve security in the south and in the north and on the east side of our country.
I am sure that we will also find some time to discuss other matters, such as the danger of Iran and the threats that come from the President of Iran, who talks time and again about the liquidation of the state of Israel – something that is totally intolerable and unacceptable. And we have to continue the measures taken in order to stop the Iranian efforts to establish non-conventional weapons.
And again, I thank you for your friendship and for the power that you manifest in your dedication to the principles that you believe in. And I am proud to follow the same route, to fight for the principles and to carry on.
Bush: We'll answer a couple of questions, starting with Jennifer.
Question: Thank you, sir. Will you to try to persuade the Prime Minister to reenter peace talks with Mr. Abbas during the session? And to the Prime Minister, what do you think of the offer? Do you think it’s possible to have peace with just half the Palestinian people?
Olmert: I didn't hear the first part of this –
Bush: Will I try to persuade you to enter talks –
Olmert: Yeah.
Bush: First of all, we share a common vision of two states living side by side in peace. And the reason why at least I think that's important -- one, I think it’s important for the moderate people, the ordinary Palestinians to have something to be for. I also think it’s in Israel's interest to have a state, I mean, because of the demographic pressure that ultimately is going to make it very difficult for Israel to maintain its Jewishness as a state. So there’s a practical reason as well as a moral reason for there to be discussions about a way forward to achieve a two-state solution. And the Prime Minister has said that he wants to -- you can ask him if he’'s going to talk to Abbas. I’m not going to put words in his mouth.
What I'm trying to say, Jennifer, is that we share a common way forward. And our hope is that others in the region understand that this way forward leads to peace, people other than President Abbas and the Palestinians. We would hope that the Arab world supports such a concept. Inherent in that is Israel's right to exist. There needs to be solid recognition of this State’s right to live in peace. At the same time, we want to have a vision for the Palestinians to see that there’s a better tomorrow for them. These folks have been denied, for a long period of time, the right to a normal life, starting with leadership that failed them. And our hope is that President Abbas and the Prime Minister, Fayyad – who’s a good fella – will be strengthened to the point where they can lead the Palestinians in a different direction with a different hope.
The Prime Minister has spoken to me and I've spoken to him about our desire to help suffering Palestinians. Nobody likes suffering on their border; nobody likes to see suffering in the world. And so we’ll talk about that.
We’ll also talk about the broader war against extremists and radicals. It’s interesting that extremists attack democracies around the Middle East, whether it be the Iraq democracy, the Lebanese democracy, or a potential Palestinian democracy. And what that should say clearly to people all around the world is that we are involved in an ideological conflict that is a monumental conflict. And those of us that believe in liberty and human rights and human decency need to be bound together in common cause to fight off these extremists and to defeat them. You can only defeat them so much militarily; we have to also defeat them with a better idea. The better idea is being practiced by our friend Israel; it’s called democracy. And that’s the fundamental challenge facing this century: Will we have the courage and the resolve necessary to help democracy defeat this ideology? And I will tell the Prime Minister once again, I’m deeply committed to this cause, whether it be in Iraq or Lebanon or in the Palestinian territory, or anywhere else in the Middle East and around the world.
Question: Will you agree to talk with Mr. Abbas?
Olmert: Well, naturally I think at this particular point, I’m sure the President will not have to work hard to convince me, because I proposed to meet with President Abbas. In fact, I initiated the idea that we will meet on a regular basis or bi-weekly to discuss matters, and I proposed that I would even come to Jericho, something that no Prime Minister before me did. The President was having serious difficulties, some of which we have witnessed lately, and that’s the reason he had to cancel some of the meetings. But there’s no question that I want to talk to the President of the Palestinian community, Mr. Abbas. I will be talking to him. The teams of both sides meet regularly every week and discuss some of the measures, and the idea that I have is to talk with him on the kind of issues that can help upgrade the quality of life of the people and provide them better security in the West Bank, and to share with him the efforts to combat terror. This is something that he is absolutely committed to doing. We will have to do it, and this is not something that the Palestinians can escape. They will have to fight terror in the most effective way, something that they haven’t done, unfortunately, up until now. But this is something that ‘m sure he understands is a prerequisite for any major development in the future.
Of course, we also have to talk about the groundwork that needs to be laid in order to allow us rapidly to talk about the creation of a Palestinian state. This is the main vision of my friend, President Bush. This is the reason that we share the ultimate goal to create a Palestinian state. We have to prepare the groundwork that will soon allow, I hope, us to be able to start serious negotiations about the creation of a Palestinian state. And in order to achieve peace, we have to fight terror, we have to increase security, we have to upgrade the quality of life for the Palestinians, and of course, the Palestinians have to establish a much more credible and serious administration that will be able to take care of their daily needs in an appropriate manner.
Question: What will Israel will do with the refugees coming from Gaza; will it leave them to the murderers’ guns or will it take them to refuge in the West Bank?
And I would like to ask you – the Prime Minister of Israel calls for negotiations with no preconditions with Syria. So does President Assad of Syria, and he asks for U.S. mediation. Will you do it?
Bush: They can handle their own negotiations with Syria. If the Prime Minister wants to negotiate with Syria, he doesn’'t need me to mediate.
Question: Do you think it’s a good idea?
Bush: It’s up to the Prime Minister. I haven’t had a chance to talk to him about that. I don’t know if you're putting words in his mouth or not. But I’m looking forward to having the discussion about Iran and Syria and the neighborhood. But this man’s plenty capable of conducting his own negotiations without mediation.
Olmert: (Chuckles) Well, first of all, to answer your question – we have been very, very attentive to the humanitarian needs of Gaza, and we’ll continue to provide everything that is necessary in order to meet these humanitarian needs. Israel will not be indifferent to the human suffering in Gaza. Israel will be different from the Palestinians themselves, because the reality is that all this suffering is caused by Palestinians against their own people. What Hamas was doing in Gaza is absolutely atrocious, and intolerable. And I’m sure that many who had some hopes that maybe Hamas could be more reasonable and more restrained I think now lost these hopes because of what they have been doing to their own people: killing innocent civilians, pulling out from hospital beds, members of Fatah who were wounded and dropped off the fifth floor to kill them in the street, and other terrible things. And we will not be indifferent. We already are taking care of many of the Palestinians in Gaza during the last few days, and we will continue to deal with it as it comes. Of course, they are not interested in staying in Israel. They want to be amongst Palestinians. And they will be treated in this manner.
Question: Will you let them go?
Olmert: As I said, we will check every single case and we’ll see how we can help them, and I’m sure that we will help them. As for Syria, I’m afraid that you may have not understood correctly what the Syrian leader said. The Syrian leader said that he is against any preconditions from the Israeli side, but he’s certainly for preconditions from the Syrian side. One of the preconditions is that he wants President Bush to work more than he does already in regional issues and to be the mediator. And the President correctly said this is not a job for the President of the United States. He’s got many other things to do. And I don’t think that if someone wants to speak directly, he needs the involvement of America in order to allow these negotiations to take place. I’m not certain that the understanding of the President of Syria can lay the foundations for immediate discussions between Syria and Israel.
Question: Mr. President, with Hamas’s takeover of Gaza, aren’t you effectively accepting a split between the two main Palestinian territories? And how big of a blow is this to your vision of achieving agreement before the end of your term for a Palestinian state and Israel living side by side in peace?
Bush: First of all, we recognize the president of all the Palestinian people, and that’s President Abu Mazen. He was elected. He’s the president. Secondly, we recognize that it was Hamas that attacked the unity government. They made the choice of violence. It was their decision that has caused there to be this current situation in the Middle East, about which we’ll be spending some time discussing.
What you’re seeing now in this part of the 21st century is going to be played out over time. This is an ideological struggle. We're looking at the difference between a group of people that want to represent the Palestinians, who believe in peace, who want a better way for their people, who believe in democracy. They need help to build the institutions necessary for democracy to flourish, they need help to build security forces so that they can end up enforcing what most of the people want, which is to live in peace. And that’s versus a group of radicals and extremists who are willing to use violence, unspeakable violence sometimes, to achieve a political objective. And the challenge is, for those of use who believe that democracy can help yield the peace, is to continue to move forward.
And that’s what we'll be discussing about today, how to do so. The Prime Minister said he’s willing to have discussions with the forces of moderation in the Palestinian territory, laying the groundwork for serious discussions. That is a statement that shows that the Prime Minister is willing to promote an alternative vision. You know, the world is confronted with these choices. Are you willing to accept the fact that extremism is around and is willing to promote violence? Or should we resist that? Should we not combine forces and efforts to promote alternatives to this vision?
It’s precisely what we’re doing in Iraq. We strongly believe it’s in the world’s interest to support this young democracy. Al-Qaeda, the people who killed nearly 3,000 of our people here in the United States, are conducting major car bombs and acts of unspeakable violence in Iraq, trying to drive us out. Because they want to impose their vision on the Iraqi people. And so, Mr. Prime Minister, you know I’m committed to helping the Iraqis succeed with a democracy. It’s in the interest of the Middle East that this democracy succeed as an alternative. Because if we were to fail, then all of a sudden these extremists would have safe haven. Extremists in the Middle East would be emboldened by the failure of those of us who live nice comfortable existences to help those who are struggling for freedom. This is a great challenge of our time and there will be forward movement; there will be setbacks. The fundamental question facing those of us who have office is whether we have the determination and the will and the vision to present an alternative to these people, and I believe we do. And I believe that’s the calling of our time. And so that’s why I'm excited to be talking about it with a man who shares the vision that there is a better way than to accommodate and accept extremism and radicalism.
Question: Mr. President, a question regarding the ongoing attempt by Iran to acquire nuclear capability and atom bomb. Are you willing to say at this time that a military action against Iran is no longer an option, in light of the situation?
Bush: I would tell you this, my position hasn’t changed. And that is, all options are on the table. I would hope that we can solve this diplomatically. The United States takes the threat very seriously, and I fully understand the concerns of any Israeli when they hear the voice of the man in Iran saying, on the one hand, “We want to acquire the technologies and know-how to build enriched uranium,” which could then be converted into a nuclear weapon, and on the other hand, “we want to destroy Israel.” If I were an Israeli citizen, I would view that as a serious to my security. And as a strong ally of Israel, I view that as a serious threat to the security. Not only the security of Israel but the security of the Middle East.
That’s why we are constantly working to remind our European friends, as well as Russia and other members of the U.N., we have an obligation to see if we can't work together to solve this issue diplomatically. That means to provide, you know, consequences to the Iranian government if they continue to pursue a nuclear weapon, such as financial sanctions or economic sanctions. We want there to be a choice. We want people to see that isolation has got a consequence to it, that there’'s a price that’s paid for this kind of intransigence and these threatening tones.
And it’s difficult work to keep the nations bound together to help deal with this issue diplomatically, but we have done it – we’ve done a pretty good job so far. Now, whether or not they abandon their nuclear weapons programs, we’ll see. But at least we’ve got unanimity so far at the U.N. Security Council, speaking pretty clearly that there will be consequences. And there are consequences. There are some economic consequences beginning to affect the economy. The Iranian people don’t need to live under these kinds of conditions. These are proud people with a great tradition. Their government can do better for them. And threatening the world has caused there to be isolation. And these good folks could have leadership that enables them to have a better economy and a better way of life, an economy and a way of life that really just enriches their families, that gives them a better chance to succeed. But, no, this group of people have made a different alternative, and now our job is to make sure that we continue to keep the pressure on them. Thank you all very much.