Palistine, Israel and Spin

Helen goes after Tony the Snow-slick. I can't quite figure out what to make of this exchange, can you?

Q Is the U.S. going to emphasize to Israel that the Palestinians also have a right to exist? And is the President aware that you cannot annex occupied land under international law?

MR. SNOW: The President is fully aware of all the legal complexities involved in the situation --

Q How do you know that?

MR. SNOW: How do I know that? Because I've talked with him about it. I've been in the room when the President talks about this, Helen. And he is not only fully aware of it, he is also aware of the challenges that work on both sides.

As you know, President Abbas has his own difficulties dealing with fractured -- factions within the Palestinians. And what we are trying to do is, this government has been trying to do for a long time, is to come up with a two-state solution that is going to provide safe and sovereign boundaries for both countries.

Q Does that mean apart from Abbas, the President will urge Olmert to move away or abandon his convergence plan?

MR. SNOW: Well, at this point, again, I'm not going to tell you what he is going to say in upcoming talks with the Prime Minister. That would be inappropriate --

Q But you said you've been in meetings with him, so, to date, in meetings with him, has he expressed an interest in Olmert's --

MR. SNOW: I've not been in those meetings with him today, so I will not try to blow smoke on you. I will repeat what I've said before. What we have tried to do is to talk about the importance of working toward a two-state solution; to have a two-state solution you have to have people on both sides talking toward doing this. And so I'm not going to address the specifics of the convergence plan.

Q What's the U.S. role in all this?

MR. SNOW: Well, the U.S. role is one of working with Israel and, when possible, with the Palestinians to try to generate a peace -- the same it's always been, Helen --

Q Then why is it bankrupting the Palestinians?

MR. SNOW: The Palestinians are not being bankrupted, Helen. What's happening, as you know, is that there is -- Hamas is a terrorist organization. We do not give money to terrorist organizations. What has happened is that this government has tried in a number of ways to make humanitarian aid available to the Palestinian people. We draw a distinction between Hamas, which is --

Q And they were democratically elected.

MR. SNOW: They were democratically elected and they're still a terrorist organization.

Q By your designation.

MR. SNOW: Yes. Thank you very much, Helen. They are, in fact, by the designation of this government, this administration, and prior administrations. So let me continue my answer.

Q Go ahead.

MR. SNOW: Thank you. (Laughter.)

Q You're welcome.

MR. SNOW: By the way, that's a nice apple, and congratulations on the book. I want to get all that done. But, look --

Q Here. (Laughter.)

MR. SNOW: Come here. (Laughter.) Whoever thought Helen Thomas would kiss up to me. An apple for the teacher. (Laughter.)

Q Hardly. Hardly. (Laughter.)

MR. SNOW: Now, where was I in this? Okay, what we --

Q Still spinning.

MR. SNOW: -- what we are trying to do is to make humanitarian aid available to the Palestinian people, because they need it. They need food aid, they need medical aid, they need money for other basic needs, and we're trying to make that available to them.

Q Then the follow-up, is it possible to pursue both the convergence plan and a two-state solution simultaneously?

MR. SNOW: Again, I will leave that to the heads of state and key negotiators.