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Monday, January 5, 2009

Bush urging Israel to accept a ceasefire before
he leaves office

WASHINGTON — President George W. Bush is pressing Israel to agree to a ceasefire with Hamas over the next few days as part of his effort to leave his sucessor a clean slate in the Middle East.

"The president wants to clear his desk so that his successor does not enter office in middle of a crisis," an official said.

On Dec. 31, Bush telephoned Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to hear Israel's military plans to stop Hamas missile fire. Officials said the president urged Olmert to agree to a U.S.-Saudi effort to achieve a Hamas ceasefire agreement.

"They discussed what steps could lead to a cessation of violence.," White House deputy press secretary Gordon Johndroe said.

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Officials said Bush has succeeded in eliciting an Israeli pledge not to destroy the Hamas regime in the Gaza Strip. They said the president has urged Israel to agree to a U.S.-Saudi effort to achieve a ceasefire with Hamas that would ensure several months of calm in the region.

Officials said the United States has drafted a ceasefire resolution for the United Nations Security Council that called for international monitors. Under the resolution, they said, Hamas would end missile and rocket fire and Israel would withdraw from the Gaza Strip.

Officials said Bush has been in telephone contact with Saudi King Abdullah, Jordan's King Abdullah, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. They said Qatar, regarded as a key friend of Hamas, has also been contacted, while Egypt has renewed talks with Hamas after a cessation of several weeks.

On Jan. 3, the United States rejected a proposed Security Council statement for an immediate ceasefire. Officials said the U.S. opposition was based on an assessment that Hamas was not yet ready to honor the ceasefire.

"It would not be adhered to and would have no underpinning for success, would not do credit to the council," U.S. deputy ambassador to the UN, Alejandro Wolff, said.

In a Jan. 2 address, Bush said any Israeli ceasefire with Hamas must be monitored by the international community. In June 2008, Israel and Hamas agreed to a lull in violence that lasted about five months.

"There must be monitoring mechanisms in place to help ensure that smuggling of weapons to terrorist groups in Gaza comes to an end," Bush said. "In the days ahead, the United States will stay closely engaged with our partners in the region, in Europe, and in the international community."

A range of administration officials have been in contact with Israeli leaders during the Hamas war. Officials said Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was on the telephone at least once a day with Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, while Defense Secretary Robert Gates has been discussing developments with his Israeli counterpart, Ehud Barak. Adm. Michael Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was also said to have received an Israeli briefing.

Officials said the administration expected the Israeli offensive to last no more than a week. They said the war could begin winding down on Jan. 6 in wake of a scheduled meeting by the Security Council.

"They have said, now, for a period of months — they told me on my last trip over there -- that they didn't want to have to act, where Gaza was concerned," Vice President Richard Cheney said on Jan. 4. "They had gotten out of there three years ago. But if the rocketing didn't stop, they felt they had no choice but to take action. And if they did, they would be very aggressive, in terms of trying to take down Hamas. And that's exactly what's happened."



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