MIDDLE EAST:President George Bush has called an international conference involving Israel, the Palestinian Authority and some of their Arab neighbours in an effort to marginalise Hamas and to consider how to restart Middle East peace talks.
The conference, which will take place in the autumn, will be chaired by secretary of state Condoleezza Rice and will include only those states that recognise Israel's right to exist and favour a two-state solution.
Speaking at the White House, Mr Bush promised to increase US aid to the Palestinian Authority under Mahmoud Abbas, whose influence no longer extends beyond the West Bank. The president said that the fate of the Palestinians would hinge on the choice they made between the leadership of Mr Abbas and that of Hamas, which controls Gaza.
"The alternatives before the Palestinian people are stark. There is the vision of Hamas, which the world saw in Gaza - with murderers in black masks, and summary executions, and men thrown to their death from rooftops. By following this path, the Palestinian people would guarantee chaos, and suffering, and the endless perpetuation of grievance. They would surrender their future to Hamas's foreign sponsors in Syria and Iran. And they would crush the possibility of any - of a Palestinian state," Mr Bush said.
Mr Bush's speech comes as the Middle East Quartet, made up of the US, the European Union, the United Nations and Russia, prepares to meet in Portugal on Thursday for the first time since former British prime minister Tony Blair became the group's special envoy to the region.
Mr Bush said that, through diplomatic initiatives and economic support, the international community could strengthen what he called "the forces of moderation and peace" among the Palestinians.
"We can help them show the world what a Palestinian state would look like - and act like. We can help them prove to the world, the region, and Israel that a Palestinian state would be a partner - not a danger. We can help them make clear to all Palestinians that rejecting violence is the surest path to security and a better life. And we can help them demonstrate to the extremists once and for all that terror will have no place in a Palestinian state," he said.
Mr Bush, who five years ago became the first US president to publicly endorse a two-state solution, said that serious negotiations towards creating a "viable and contiguous" Palestinian state could begin soon, possibly leading to an agreement on "all the issues", including refugees and Jerusalem.
For such negotiations to succeed, Israel would have to make clear that it accepts that its future does not lie in continuing to occupy the West Bank.
"Unauthorised outposts should be removed and settlement expansion ended. At the same time, Israelis should find other practical ways to reduce their footprint without reducing their security so they can help President Abbas improve economic and humanitarian conditions. They should be confident that the United States will never abandon its commitment to the security of Israel as a Jewish state and homeland for the Jewish people," Mr Bush said.
Mr Bush's policy of isolating Hamas and bolstering Mr Abbas enjoys bipartisan support in Washington, where senators yesterday returned to a debate about the Iraq war. Democrats will try to set a deadline for the reduction of US forces in Iraq and two moderate Republicans are proposing that the president should develop a plan for withdrawal. Mr Bush has said he will veto any Bill that includes a timetable for withdrawal.