President Bush shared his vision of a Palestinian state without checkpoints after visiting Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity.
“Some day I hope that as a result of a formation of a Palestinian state there won’t be walls and checkpoints, that people will be able to move freely in a democratic state,” Bush said after his tour of the church Thursday, hosted by the Palestinian Authority.
“That’s the vision, greatly inspired by my belief that there is an Almighty, and a gift of that Almighty to each man, woman and child on the face of the Earth is freedom. And I felt it strongly here today,” he added.
Bush is on the second day of an eight-day Middle East tour aimed at spurring forward renewed Israeli Palestinian talks.
Power the news that matters to you. Before 2025 ends, help JTA's independent, award-winning newsroom document Jewish history in real-time.
