Updated: 1:34 p.m. ET May 26, 2005
WASHINGTON - President Bush praised Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas’ steps toward peace and democracy on Thursday and predicted that Palestinians will reject candidates of the militant group Hamas in upcoming parliamentary elections.
Bush, with Abbas at his side in the Rose Garden, said it was his hope that “more and more people will reject the notion” of a “state based upon violence.”
Bush also announced that United States will direct $50 million for housing and other construction aid to the Palestinian Authority to help Palestinians in Gaza once Israelis leave this August.
You have made a new start on a difficult journey, requiring courage and leadership each day. And we will take that journey together,” Bush told Abbas in the first visit of the top Palestinian leader to the White House of Bush’s presidency.
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