WASHINGTON, July 30 (UPI) -- President Bush said Wednesday it is essential to bolster Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas and his government.
"The Palestinian people have to realize there is hope in a free society" and they have to choose a leader who can deliver that hope, Bush said in a Rose Garden news conference.
He said he is convinced Abbas is committed to peace and "believes in the aspirations of the Palestinian people."
Bush said he was encouraged by a meeting he had with the Palestinian finance minister in which the University of Texas graduate offered to open the Palestinian Authority's books to prove "they're not stealing money."
Among the most critical obstacles to peace are the actions of countries outside the Middle East.
"We've got to get others in the neighborhood to continue to remind certain countries it will be frowned upon to destabilize the process," Bush said.
