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U.S. delegation heads to Jerusalem

WASHINGTON, Feb. 17 (UPI) -- A U.S. diplomatic delegation will depart for Jerusalem Tuesday night to push the U.S.-backed peace process, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said.

Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs William J. Burns, White House adviser Elliott Abrams, and Deputy National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley will consult with Israelis and Palestinians "on ways to move forward towards realization of the president's June 24 vision," Boucher told reporters Tuesday.

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On June 24, 2002, President Bush called for new Palestinian leadership "uncompromised by terror." Boucher said he did not have an exact itinerary for the delegation, but "I can think of one gentleman (Yasser Arafat) they won't be meeting with."

Boucher said phase one of the road map for peace was ending terror, then bringing into being a Palestinian state "with interim features associated with it," and ultimately a Palestinian state living side by side with Israel.

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