Bush Predicts Peace Deal Will Be Reached

Speaking from Ramallah, on the West Bank, with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at his side, President Bush confidently predicted that a peace deal between the Palestinians and Israelis would be signed by the end of his presidency. The president made the comments after a meeting with Abbas on the second day of his trip to the Middle East. The trip is intended to jump start the peace process and build momentum toward an agreement on final status issues that have long prevented the creation of a Palestinian state.

As he did after his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Olmert, the president made comments that lent support to some of the Palestinians greatest concerns in the negotiations, calling on Israel to accept a Palestinian state with contiguous territory. Currently, the Palestinian territories consist pockets of land interspersed with Israeli settlements and outposts. "The whole object is to create a state that is capable of defending itself internally and giving confidence to its neighbor that checkpoints won't be needed," he said. Yesterday, at a news conference with Olmert, President Bush said, "I think it's clear the outposts ought to go."

The president also addressed the issue of Hamas control of the Gaza Strip, which since its takeover, is both physically, politically, and philosophically separated from Abbas and the West Bank. Hamas does not recognize Israel's right to exist, and is intent on making trouble for the peace process. Its militants regularly launch rockets from Gaza into Israeli towns, and its supporters find allies in Iran and Syria, the two most virulently anti-Israel states in the region.

The president acknowledged that the problems Hamas' presence in Gaza create would likely not be solved in the next year. But, Mr. Bush said that the peace deal he is hoping to forge would provide the Palestinians with a "clear choice."

"There is a competing vision taking place in Gaza. And in my judgment, Hamas - which I thought ran on the campaign, 'We're going to improve your lives through better education and better health' - has delivered nothing but misery.

Do [Palestinians] want those who have created chaos to run your country? Or do [they] want those of us who negotiated a settlement with the Israelis that will lead to lasting peace?"

The question was rhetorical and was meant to underscore the president's position on this trip that the United States has the best interests of the Israelis and the Palestinian people in mind.