George W. Bush yesterday began his first visit as US president to Israel and the Palestinian territories, saying he saw a new opportunity for peace.

No breakthroughs were expected in three days of talks following up on a US-hosted international conference in November that yielded promises from both sides to try to forge a two-state accord before Bush's term ends in January 2009.

Accused for years of neglecting the Middle East's most intractable conflict, Bush strode down the red carpet at Tel Aviv's Ben-Gurion airport and spoke of a lasting peace that has eluded many of his predecessors.

"We see a new opportunity for peace here in the Holy Land and for freedom across the region," Bush said at the welcoming ceremony before flying by helicopter to Jerusalem for talks with President Shimon Peres and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

Bush spoke of guaranteeing Israel's security "as a Jewish state". Palestinians oppose Olmert's demand they recognize it as such, saying to do so could deny Palestinian refugees the right to return to homes they abandoned in what is now Israel.

Bush, who met Olmert at the prime minister's Jerusalem residence, will try to nudge him and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, whom he sees in the occupied West Bank today, to move forward in a fragile peace process relaunched at Annapolis, Maryland.

But Olmert and Abbas are politically weak and analysts say chances are slim for a Palestinian statehood deal before Bush leaves the White House. Doubts remain about his commitment and ability to act as an even-handed broker between US ally Israel and the Palestinians.

Iran issue looms

Iran also looms large over Bush's travels, which will include visits to Saudi Arabia and other Arab allies he hopes to enlist in efforts to contain Teheran's growing regional clout.

Peres opened the visit by telling Bush immediately at the welcoming ceremony of Israel's concerns about Tehran's nuclear program - worries that Washington shares. "Iran should not underestimate our resolve for self-defense," Peres said.

Israeli officials say Iran, not the peace process, will be the focus of their leaders' discussions with Bush.

Bush seems intent on using the waning months of his presidency to try to shape a foreign policy legacy not completely defined by the unpopular war in Iraq.

He may also be hoping to use the Middle East stage to stay relevant as he competes for attention with the presidential race back home, a reminder to world leaders they will be dealing with his successor in about a year's time.

Low expectations

While US officials played down expectations, Bush's visit was clearly a national event for Israelis, some of whom took to rooftops to wave at his helicopter as it flew over Jewish neighborhoods of Jerusalem.

The Palestinians have been upset over Jewish settlement expansion they say could deny them a viable state, while Israel is threatening to step up attacks on militants in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip in response to rocket fire.

While Bush has called settlement expansion an "impediment", doubts remain over how much pressure he will be willing to put on Israel, a key ally, to make compromises.

Also uncertain is whether Olmert and Abbas, who on the eve of Bush's visit agreed to begin talks on issues such as borders and the future of Jerusalem and Palestinian refugees, have enough clout to close a deal, let alone implement one.

Abbas's secular Fatah faction lost control of the Gaza Strip to Hamas Islamists in June. Olmert could face calls to resign later this month when a commission investigating the 2006 Lebanon war issues its final report.

Agencies

(China Daily 01/10/2008 page12)