Palestinians need to step up

C'mon Palestine, shock me. I don't think you'll even come close to making it worth Israel moving out of Gaza. Prove me wrong. UNITED NATIONS (AP)-[off the wire, no link]-President George W. Bush said Wednesday the Palestinians should follow through on Israel's withdrawal from Gaza by establishing a peaceful government in the area as a starting point toward coexistence with the Jewish state. "The world must hear that now," Bush told Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon at the start of one of only two meetings the president held between U.N. sessions marking the world organization's 60th birthday. The other was with staunch U.S. ally U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair. Sharon's decision to withdraw all Jewish settlers and Israeli troops from Gaza seems to have eased pressure on him, and prompted countries such as Pakistan to consider diplomatic ties. For Israel, it is a rare respite in a setting where Israel routinely is criticized as unyielding. And Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas appears to be responding. A top aide said Wednesday he would demand that all armed groups in Gaza represented in the new parliament disband immediately after Palestinian elections in January. "I am inspired by your courageous decision to give peace a chance," Bush told Sharon. "I know it was hard to do." Turning to the Palestinians' role, Bush said, "One thing is essential and the world must hear that now is the time for Palestinians to come together and establish a government that will be peaceful with Israel." "Gaza is a good chance to start," Bush said. "I know the Israeli government wants to see that to happen as well." Turning to Arab governments who have pledged massive assistance to the Palestinians but have been slow to follow through, Bush said, "Arab neighbors need to help the Palestinians develop an economy. Now is the time for people to step up." Copyright © 2005 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.(AP-DJ)--09-14-05 1350EDT I'm 99.9% sure that giving up Gaza won't solve a damn thing. True, Israel deserves credit for giving away the farm to try to buy peace, but I don't think it will be enough. They'll keep wanting more. And it's not like they can give up being Jewish because that's what it's going to take for Hamas to give this up.