y Palestinians ho-hum over Bush visit

January 13, 2008 - 0:0

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) -- Men smoking waterpipes in a Ramallah cafe paid little attention to the TV screen showing President Bush's live news conference Thursday.

Palestinians in the West Bank greeted his visit with a mix of skepticism and apathy.
""He'll make no progress in Palestine,"" said Mohammed Ismail, 39, who sat in the cafe near a TV — but with his back to the screen. ""Maybe he'll bring new disasters instead.""
The most common view on the streets of Ramallah and other Palestinian cities was that Bush is biased in favor of Israel. His attempts to appear evenhanded, including a call Thursday evening for Israel to end its 40-year occupation of Arab lands, didn't much impress Palestinians.
""What Bush is doing here is getting the cat and the mice in the same box,"" Jawad Ibrahim, 48, said, referring to Israel and the Palestinians. ""Of course the cat will eat the mice.""
The cool reaction to Bush's visit — his first to the Palestinian territories — stood in sharp contrast to the reception Wednesday in Israel, where children danced and sang for him and the entire Cabinet greeted him at the airport.
Many Palestinians resent Bush's support for Israeli military attacks on militants they see as resisting Israeli occupation and they don't like his hands-off approach to Mideast peacemaking during the past seven years.
Authorities kept pedestrians and cars off Ramallah's streets while Bush's motorcade sped to the office of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the compound where longtime PLO leader Yasser Arafat ruled until his death in 2004.
Bush, who always rebuffed Arafat, strode by his grave without looking at it.
Habib Hussein, 54, sipping tea at the cafe, added: ""Bush won't help us.""
Palestinian police checked documents of motorists and blocked the road leading to Abbas' compound with a pile of tires. Pedestrian Hind Abu Aoun argued with police about getting to work.
""I think this is the only tangible result of Bush's visit — closed roads,"" she said. Then a policeman drove her and two others to their office. ""You get your own convoy,"" he joked.
A few Palestinians braved the heavy security and tried to demonstrate against Bush, and they paid the price. Palestinian police swinging clubs waded into a small crowd chanting ""Bush, get out!""
Nibal Awwad, 37, lost sight of her husband and children in the melee. Holding a small Palestinian flag, she said she would keep demonstrating. ""We'll keep fighting for our rights,"" she said.
Before the American president made an emotional visit to Bethlehem to see the traditional birthplace of Jesus, Palestinian police detained two people passing out anti-Bush leaflets across from the Church of the Nativity.
In Hamas-ruled Gaza, gunmen fired a rocket-propelled grenade at a private American school before dawn Thursday, causing damage but no injuries. Principal Ribhi Salim said he believed the attack was linked to Bush's visit. The school, which holds classes in English and follows a U.S. curriculum, has no ties to the U.S. government but has been targeted by protesters in the past.
Morning fog grounded Bush's helicopter and forced him to encounter one of the main irritants in the daily lives of Palestinians: the imposing gray separation barrier that Israel says is necessary to keep out suicide bombers. Palestinians say the West Bank fence amounts to a land grab.
Bush quipped that his motorcade ""of a mere 45 cars was able to make it through without being stopped,"" adding, ""I'm not so exactly sure that's what happens to the average person.""
Later in Bethlehem, it appeared his encounter with the 25-foot-high wall made an impression. ""One day, I hope as a result of a formation of a Palestinian state, there will be no wall and checkpoints,"" Bush said. ""People will be able to move freely in a democratic state. That's the vision.""
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