Despite prodding from Egypt today, US President George W. Bush said he was not ready to propose a timetable for the establishment of a Palestinian state.
"We're not ready to lay down a specific calendar, except for the fact that we've got to get started quickly, soon, so that we can seize the moment," Mr Bush said at a joint news conference with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
Mr Bush and Mr Mubarak spoke after their talks yesterday night and this morning in the confines of Camp David, where Egypt and Israel reached a peace agreement a quarter century ago. The two leaders also differed on how to deal with Palestinian President Yasser Arafat.
Mr Mubarak urged President Bush to give Mr Arafat a chance. He said: "Such a chance would prove that he's going to deliver or not. If he's going to deliver, I think everyone will support him. If he's not going to deliver, his people will tell him that."
But Mr Bush said Mr Mubarak had an "interesting point of view" about Mr Arafat but that there was "plenty of talent" elsewhere among the Palestinians that will emerge "if we develop the institutions necessary for the development of a state."
"Chairman Arafat as far as I'm concerned is not the issue," said Mr Bush. "The issue is whether or not the Palestinian people can have a hopeful future. I have constantly said I am disappointed in his leadership. I think he's letting the Palestinian people down. So therefore my focus is on the reforms necessary to help the Palestinians."
The Bush administration has been reaching out to other Palestinians as it seeks to coax the Palestinian Authority to reform, including its splintered security force, in order to create the conditions for peace negotiations.
"Here's the timetable I have in mind. We need to start immediately in building the institutions necessary for the emergency of a Palestinian state which on the one hand will give hope to the Palestinian people and on the other hand will say to the world, including the neighborhood, that there is a chance ... to live in peace, to defeat terror," Mr Bush said.
Mr Mubarak had gone to Camp David hoping to persuade Mr Bush to support declaring the state of Palestine early next year, and do so before negotiations on the new state's final border.