[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2003, Book I)]
[June 3, 2003]
[Page 587]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]


[[Page 587]]

Remarks at a Multilateral Meeting With Arab Leaders in Sharm el-Sheikh, 
Egypt
June 3, 2003

    Well, Mr. President, thank you very much 
for hosting this important meeting. I want to thank the leaders for 
coming, Your ``Abu Mazen'' I want to thank you and 
your delegation for coming as well.
    I'm the kind of person who, when I say something, I mean it. I mean 
that the world needs to have a Palestinian state that is free and at 
peace. And therefore, my Government will work with all parties concerned 
to achieve that vision. I believe now is the time to work to achieve the 
vision.
    All of us have responsibilities to achieve the vision. You, sir, 
have got a responsibility, and you've assumed it. I want to work with 
you, as do the other leaders here. We must not allow few people, a few 
killers, a few terrorists to destroy the dreams and the hopes of the 
many.
    Israel has got responsibilities. Israel must deal with the 
settlements. Israel must make sure there's a contiguous* territory that 
the Palestinians can call home.
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    *White House correction.
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    The leaders at the table have got a responsibility. The biggest 
responsibility that they have, it seems like to me, is to fight off any 
source of funding to terror, is to prevent the terrorists from gaining a 
foothold. I know that is the commitment of the leaders here; I have 
talked to them about that. It's in their own self-interests to fight off 
terror. It's in their own self-interests to enable the Palestinian state 
to emerge.
    So this is an historic meeting. It's the beginning of a long process 
and a tough process. But no matter how difficult it is, you have my 
commitment that I will expend the energy and effort necessary to move 
the process forward.
    I believe that, as I told the Crown Prince, thank you for convening 
this meeting. Tomorrow we've got important meetings as well. This is the 
beginning of a process where all of us must not allow the few to destroy 
the hopes of the many.
    May God bless our work.

Note: The President spoke at 1:50 p.m. at the Movenpick Conference 
Center. The following leaders participated in the meeting with the 
President: President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt; King Abdullah II of Jordan; 
King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa of Bahrain; Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi 
Arabia; and Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) of the Palestinian 
Authority. A tape was not available for verification of the content of 
these remarks.