(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-05-15 09:46

JERUSALEM - An emotional President George W. Bush pledged that America would remain "Israel's best friend in the world" on Wednesday during a celebratory visit to Jerusalem to mark the 60th anniversary of the Jewish state.

US President George W. Bush steps down from the stage after his speech at The Israeli Presidential Conference in Jerusalem May 14, 2008. [Agencies]

His host, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, appeared to bring a tear to the president's eye when he called him "a great leader, a great friend". Olmert also held out hope of reaching a peace with the Palestinians before Bush steps down in January.

The warmth of Bush's welcome and his own words for Israelis on a day when Palestinians recall their sufferings at Israel's creation in 1948 will do little, however, to dispel many Arabs' conviction that Washington is too partisan to broker a deal.

A rocket attack from the Gaza Strip that wounded several Israelis at a shopping mall and prompted warnings of an Israeli offensive was also a reminder of problems facing negotiations which Bush helped relaunch toward the end of a two-term presidency marked by intractable conflicts in the Middle East.

Israel later killed two Hamas men in an air strike in Gaza.

Bush condemned "terrorists", including the Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza. He said Washington would support those Palestinians "who don't share" Hamas's vision.

On a visit earlier this year, he called Israel's hold on the West Bank an occupation that must end. This time he spoke little of the peace process -- though he stressed his view that Israel's democracy should be a model for the whole Middle East.

Noting he will address Israel's parliament on Thursday, he said: "I will talk about the day when I believe every child in the Middle East can live in peace and live in freedom. With trust in the rock of Israel we know that day will come. And when it does, the United States of America will be by your side."

Mixed emotions

The president and his wife Laura began their three-day visit to Israel at a time when all Palestinians recall the "Nakba", or catastrophe, when half the Arabs of Palestine were driven from their homes as the Jewish state was declared on May 14, 1948.

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