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APN to Bush: Take Concrete Steps to Nourish the Peace Process

APN urged President Bush, as he prepares for his first presidential visit to Israel and the West Bank, to go beyond rhetoric and ceremonies...

See JTA: "A Jewish U.S. peace group called on President Bush to take bold steps toward Israeli-Palestinian peace."


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - January 4, 2008                    
CONTACT:  Ori Nir (202) 728-1893

Washington, D.C. - Americans for Peace Now (APN) today urged President Bush, as he prepares for his first presidential visit to Israel and the West Bank, to go beyond rhetoric and ceremonies and take concrete, bold steps to advance Israeli-Palestinian peace.

"If the negotiating process you launched in Annapolis is to thrive, rather than be stillborn, like so many past initiatives, it is vital that you now work to nourish it," APN said in a letter it sent today to the White House. "In 2008, Mr. President, we urge you to stay the course and follow the biblical edict to 'seek peace and pursue it' - for the sake of the U.S., Israel and all people who long for an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict."

Specifically, the letter calls on Bush to:

       immediately establish the U.S. mechanism to monitor the progress and performance of both Israel and the Palestinians, as promised in Annapolis;

       urgently clarify that the Road Map requires both sides to honor their obligations simultaneously - beginning with Israel's obligation to immediately dismantle outposts and freeze settlements, and the PA's obligation to  undertake a sustained and effective effort to confront terrorists and dismantle terrorist infrastructure;

       press both Israel and the Palestinians to formalize their negotiating teams and commit to a negotiations schedule and agenda;

       continue to insist that the Palestinians act vigorously and continuously to fight violence and terror, stop all anti-Israeli incitement, and promote and protect the rule of law;

       remain firm in demanding that Israel refrain from actions that will harm the prospects of success in peace negotiations or seek to prejudge the outcome of negotiations, including expanding settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem;

       continue to provide material and moral support for the peace process and to mobilize similar support from countries in the region and around the world;

       demand transparency and accountability from the PA and urge Israel to facilitate West Bank economic recovery by easing as much as possible the movement of goods and people; and

       intervene to address the growing crisis between Egypt and Israel, both to improve security along the Gaza-Egypt border, and to reinforce the Israel-Egypt covenant born at Camp David - a covenant that has been a cornerstone of U.S. policy in the Middle East for three decades."

The letter also urges Bush to work urgently to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.  "Meeting the humanitarian needs of the civilian population of Gaza must mean more than ensuring that people do not starve.  The desire to pressure Hamas notwithstanding, the dramatic deterioration in the health and welfare of civilians in Gaza over the past year represents an entirely man-made, and entirely avoidable, humanitarian tragedy.  This tragedy must be reversed, not as a concession to Hamas, but because it is the right thing to do, both morally and strategically," the letter points out.   

For a full text of APN's letter to Bush, go HERE