George W. Bush in Israel and the Middle East
by Joshua Lapide
Bush hopes to speed up the Israeli-Palestinian dialogue following the Annapolis conference. Visiting the Arab countries, he wants to reassure them about the security situation involving Iran.
Tel Aviv (AsiaNews) - United States president George Bush arrived in Israel this afternoon [local time] on a state visit. After a few days, he will also visit Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt.
The aim of his trip to Israel and the occupied territories is to advance the peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians following the international conference in Annapolis last November, which was strongly desired by the United States.
""We seek lasting peace", Bush said at his arrival at Ben Gurion airport. "We see a new opportunity for peace here in the holy land and for freedom across the region".
This, Bush's first visit to Israel as president, takes place just one day after an agreement announced between Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert and the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, to begin talks on fundamental points of conflict: the borders of the two states, the right of return for Palestinian refugees, and the status of Jerusalem. The discussions were entrusted to two commissions headed by Tizpi Livni and Ahmed Qureia.
Other heated topics, like security, commerce, and legal and civil questions, must be addressed later. But no date has been fixed yet for the beginning of these discussions, although the Israelis and Palestinians say they will come "very soon".
More than eleven thousand Israeli police have been deployed to ensure security. Bush will go to Bethlehem to visit the Church of the Nativity, and to Yad Vashem, the Holocaust memorial.
In his visits to other countries of the region, he intends to unite his main allies in an effort for peace, assuring them of the containment of the Iranian nuclear threat, even though just a few weeks ago the US intelligence agencies declared that there is no immediate danger from Tehran.
But Washington continues to maintain that Iran is a threat, and wants to confirm its commitment to guaranteeing security in the Gulf region.
Just two days ago, some Iranian and American ships almost came to an armed confrontation in the Strait of Hormuz. Bush denounced the action as a "provocation".
Welcoming the American president at the airport of Tel Aviv, Israel's president Shimon Peres said that "Iran should not underestimate our resolve for self defence".
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