Bush denounces Hamas 'terror'
US President George Bush branded the Hamas rocket attacks on Israel an “act of terror” and outlined his own condition for a ceasefire in Gaza, saying no peace deal would be acceptable without monitoring to halt the flow of smuggled weapons to terrorist groups.
Mr Bush chose his weekly taped radio address, aired this morning, to speak for the first time about one of the bloodiest Mideast clashes in decades.
The week-old conflict has seen Israeli warplanes rained bombs on Gaza, targeting the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which has traumatised southern Israel with intensifying rocket attacks.
“The United States is leading diplomatic efforts to achieve a meaningful cease-fire that is fully respected,” Mr Bush said.
“Another one-way ceasefire that leads to rocket attacks on Israel is not acceptable. And promises from Hamas will not suffice – there must be monitoring mechanisms in place to help ensure that smuggling of weapons to terrorist groups in Gaza comes to an end.”
Despite Mr Bush’s account of a US leadership role, with time running out on his presidency, the administration seemed increasingly ready to let the crisis in Gaza shift to President-elect Barack Obama, who takes office January 20.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice briefed Mr Bush on developments in Gaza, and she continued furious telephone diplomacy to arrange a truce. Yet, she said she had no plans to make an emergency visit to the region.
More than 400 Palestinians and four Israelis have been killed in the latest offensive. The UN estimated that a quarter of the Palestinians killed were civilians. In their waning days in power, Mr Bush and Dr Rice have been working the phones with world allies.
Mr Bush offered no criticism of Israel, depicting the country’s air assaults as a response to the attacks on its people. The White House will not comment on whether it views the Israeli response as proportionate or not to the scope of rockets attacks on Israel.
“This recent outburst of violence was instigated by Hamas – a Palestinian terrorist group supported by Iran and Syria that calls for Israel’s destruction,” Mr Bush said.
The president said Hamas ultimately ended the latest cease-fire on December 19 and “soon unleashed a barrage of rockets and mortars that deliberately targeted innocent Israelis – an act of terror that is opposed by the legitimate leader of the Palestinian people, President (Mahmoud) Abbas”.
