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Question: One more. Speaking of elections, the Palestinians are saying that there's no way they will be able to schedule elections in the coming months because Israel is still occupying some of the territory. Do you have any comment on that?
Mr. Reeker: I think President Bush has certainly been very clear about our support for a new Palestinian leadership brought about through free, fair and credible elections through a process conducted by the Palestinian people. The new leadership should be transparent, accountable, free from associations with terrorism and violence, and capable of taking the necessary decisions, capable of exercising leadership to prepare the Palestinian people for statehood. And that includes preparation of a constitution.
As you know, we have been working, along with others in the International Task Force on Reform -- that includes the European Union, the United Nations, Russia, other members of the Quartet, as well as international financial institutions and Japan and Norway -- engaging with Palestinians on recommendations regarding electoral reform so that we can see them take measures that ensure that future elections are free, fair and credible.
We do think it's important that the Palestinians have ample time for the reform measures to be enacted to ensure a free, fair and credible process. It's also, as we called for in Friday's Quartet statement, important for the Israelis to effect a withdrawal from Palestinian areas. And so we remain committed to that, committed to the vision that the President has made in June and was reflected in our statements issued after the Quartet meetings on Friday.
Question: If I could just have a follow-up, then I'll let you go. But do you think when you talk about the importance of effecting a withdrawal, do you think that this withdrawal has to take place before a real free and fair Palestinian election is able to take place?
Mr. Reeker: I think it's important that there be time to see that happen. The Quartet statement that we all issued jointly said that as calm is established, Israeli forces should withdraw from Palestinian areas to the pre-Intifada status quo, with -- that status quo on the ground should be restored.
Of course, specifically, the Quartet called for an immediate ceasefire, a comprehensive ceasefire, and called upon all Palestinian individuals and groups to end acts of terror against Israelis in any location. And so we'll be watching for that.
Clearly there's got to be an end to violence. We've got to see that Israelis -- you know, there's no excuse for the violence and terrorist attacks against the Israeli people that they've been forced to endure. We're pressing Palestinians to do all they can to end the terror and violence. And at the same time, we are telling the Israelis, continuing to urge the Israelis to keep in mind the consequences of their actions and to take steps to prevent further civilian casualties and consider steps that can ease the dire humanitarian situation inside Palestinian areas.
So all of these things need to continue to move forward so that we can move closer to seeing the vision that we all share become reality.
