Egypt - George W. Bush - Israel - Palestinian Territories - peace

Bush addresses Palestinian concerns

Saturday 17 May 2008

US President George Bush met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Egypt on the final leg of his Mideast trip amid widespread Arab dismay over his failure to address Palestinian hopes during his Israeli parliament speech.

Special Report Israel: 60 years in the making

Saturday 17 May 2008

By Reuters

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt, May 17 (Reuters) - U.S. President
George W. Bush, responding to Arab dismay about his praise for
Israel, said on Saturday he was confident a deal on Palestinian
statehood could be reached before he leaves office.

Despite scepticism over his chances of securing a peace
agreement by the end of his term in January, Bush expressed
optimism that a deal could be done.

Speaking after a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud
Abbas in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, Bush said he
told Abbas that he was "absolutely committed" to working with
Palestinians and Israelis to get a Palestinian state defined.

"I do so for a couple of reasons. One, it breaks my heart to
see the vast potential of the Palestinian people really wasted,"
he said.

"It'd be an opportunity to end the suffering that takes
place in the Palestinian territories," Bush said. "And the
second reason I'm for it is because it's the only way for
lasting peace."

Palestinians say the Israeli occupation in the West Bank has
created great hardship for them.

Abbas did not mention Bush's speech to Israel's parliament
on Thursday in which he heaped praise on Israel but made only
one reference to Palestinians' aspirations for a state of their
own.

"We know very well that you personally as well as your
administration are committed to reach peace before the end of
2008," Abbas said. "We are delighted to continue our engagement
with you."

Bush, who will address Palestinian issues in a speech Sunday
to the World Economic Forum, said the creation of a Palestinian
state would be "an opportunity to end the suffering in the
Palestinian territories."

ANNIVERSARY VISIT

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak had raised the issue of
Bush's speech to the Knesset in a meeting earlier on Saturday.

"We detect on the American side some optimism and we told
them that we have the same information but it is results that
will reveal whether this progress which the parties speak of is
real," Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit told
reporters.

"Time will tell how able the U.S. administration is to
achieve its objectives but we must keep trying. We cannot leave
the Palestinians in this tragic situation which we see in Gaza,
or the West Bank," he said.

On the way from the airport on the last leg of his Middle
East tour, Bush's motorcade passed a "peacemakers" mural on the
side of the road, a reminder of past efforts on diplomacy in the
region by his predecessors.

Bush's visit to Israel to celebrate its 60th anniversary
raised fresh doubts in the Arab world over his ability to act as
an even-handed broker between Israel and the Palestinians.

He hailed Israel as a "homeland for the chosen people" and
pledged that Israelis could forever count on American support
against enemies like Hamas and Iran.

Abbas, who wants Bush to put more pressure on Israel, has
little leverage and is weak at home, governing only in the West
Bank while the Islamists of Hamas control Gaza.

Israeli Prme Minister Ehud Olmert is also on the ropes,
facing a corruption scandal that could force his resignation and
possibly derail the peace process altogether.

Bush's Middle East tour, his second this year, follows a
U.S.-hosted conference in Annapolis, Maryland, in November where
Israeli and Palestinian leaders pledged to try to reach a peace
agreement by the end of Bush's term.

Since then, talks have bogged down over Israeli settlement
expansion in the occupied West Bank and violence in and around
the Gaza Strip, where Hamas cross-border rocket fire has
triggered a tough Israeli military response.