Washington, June 26: Unconvinced of reported three-month halt to attack on Israelis declared by three Palestinian militant groups, US President George W Bush has said that peace could return to the region only if organisations like Hamas were dismantled.
"In order for there to be peace in the Middle East, we
must see organisations such as Hamas dismantled," Bush told
reporters after meeting the European Union leaders yesterday.
The President reacted skeptically to reports of a
three-month halt on attacks on Israelis saying "I'll believe
it when I see it."
According to a senior official of Yasser Arafat's Fatah
faction, Islamic groups including Hamas yesterday signed an
agreement to halt attacks on Israel for the next three months.
The Palestinian people were tired of the failed
leadership, terrorism and living in poverty, and want a
peaceful state, Bush said.
The US President also called upon the leaders in Europe
and the world to take "swift, decisive action against terror
groups such as Hamas”, to cut off their funding, and to cut
off support, as the US has done.
On the nuclear ambitions of North Korea and Iran, Bush
said the EU leaders had agreed to work closely to meet the
non-proliferation challenges posed by the two countries.
He said the two sides also decided to expand the work of
the International Atomic Energy Commission to meet the new
proliferation challenges.
Bureau Report
