[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 39, Number 23 (Monday, June 9, 2003)]
[Page 711]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
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 Majesties and His 
Royal Highness. Prime Minister Abbas, 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.
    * White House correction.
    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, the Almighty God has 
endowed each individual on the face of the Earth with--that expects each 
person to be treated with dignity. This is a universal call. It's the 
call of all religions, that each person must be free and treated with 
respect. And it is with that call that I feel passionate about the need 
to move forward, so that the world can be more peaceful, more free, and 
more hopeful.
    Mr. President, 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. Participating in the meeting with the President were: President 
Hosni Mubarak of Egypt; Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia; King 
Abdullah II of Jordan; King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa of Bahrain; and 
Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) of the Palestinian Authority. A 
tape was not available for verification of the content of these remarks.