Jul 26,2007
Rice: 'There will be a Palestinian state'
by UPI

 "The Palestinian people have waited too long for the state," Rice said. "The Israelis have waited too long for the security that will come from having a viable and democratic neighbor.

"I can't tell you that it will all be done when we are finished here, but I can tell you that there will be a Palestinian state."

She went on to say Israel needed to alter its thinking on existing borders "because the future of Israel is not under the continued occupation of the West Bank.  

http://www.bendweekly.com/Nationwide-News/8509.html

 

So in other words according to Rice the peace treaty will be signed and Israel will at least withdrawal from the Westbank before Bush leaves office.

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Posted: November 26, 2007
5:00 p.m. Eastern

a senior Palestinian negotiator told WND.

"Bush and the U.S. administration gave us a commitment there will be a Palestinian state before he leaves office, and not just an outline of a state on paper but contiguous territory on the ground," said the Palestinian negotiator, who spoke on condition his name be withheld because he was revealing the contents of a private meeting.

"Bush said he is committed to seeing an Israeli withdrawal from most of the West Bank," the negotiator said.  

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=58874

 

Once again a promise to not only sign a Peace Treaty but to also create a Palestinian state out of the Westbank before Bush leaves office.

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18/Dec/2007

He said a peace agreement between Israelis and Palestinians could be forged in 2008, and a point could be reached during the year where "a minimum threshold of credibility" would be achieved, giving both sides the confidence to trade land for peace.   Tony Blair  http://www.ejpress.org/article/news/uk/22637

A peace Agreement in 2008 , and a point in time during the year where the sides have confidence to trade land for peace ::  Interview  Tony Blair. 

 It sounds Blair is confident that the Israels, and Palestinians will both meet and honor the phase one obligations  before the end of next year allowing a peace treaty and land withdrawal.

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Updated Dec 19, 2007 2:04

Rice gave some indication of what she had in mind for Jones when she told reporters en route to Paris on Sunday that the establishment of a Palestinian state "will raise questions about a security vacuum when Israelis leave the West Bank. And this is not an issue just for the Palestinians. It's an issue for the states in the area as well, like Jordan and Egypt."

As a result, she said, there needed to be a "hard look" from a military expert on what the possible vacuums could "look like when you create a Palestinian state," and how to deal with them.     http://ww! w.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1196847376197&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

"It simply has to be the case that when the Palestinian state is formed ... it has to be a net plus for the security of the region, not a net negative," Rice told reporters en route to a Palestinian donor conference in Paris.

http://www.reuters.com/article/featuredCrisis/idUSL18866819

Notice Rice says when the Israelis leave the West Bank. So James Jones is already making security plans for Israeli withdrawal from the westbank for next year.