11.   In a statement delivered on Monday, Bush, the first American president to endorse statehood for the Palestinians, set strict conditions for the move toward that status.

12.   Last week, Syria abstained from voting on a U.S.-sponsored U.N. Security Council resolution that endorsed Palestinian statehood.

13.   President Bush already has endorsed statehood for the Palestinians, and the State Department has made public appeals to Israel to give up land for promises of peace.

14.   The U.N. Security Council adopted a resolution last week that endorsed Palestinian statehood for the first time.