| 16 weeks 1 day 17 hours ago Bush expresses optimism in Israel, Middle East
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JERUSALEM (AP) - President Bush said Wednesday that 60 years of
democracy in Israel is cause for optimism for democratic change
throughout the Middle East. "What happened here is possible
everywhere," Bush said in a trip where he'll make a new push for
Israeli-Palestinian peace.
"I suspect if you looked back 60 years ago and tried to guess
where Israel would be at that time, it would be hard to be able to
project such a prosperous, hopeful land," Bush said during a
meeting with Israeli President Shimon Peres. "No question, people
would have said, 'We'd be surrounded by hostile forces."'
But Bush said he doubted that people would have been able to
envision a modern Israel - the reason he brings optimism to the
Middle East.
"The objective of the United States must be to support our
strongest ally and friend in the Middle East ... and, at the same
time, talk about a hopeful future."
Bush has expressed some optimism that an Israeli-Palestinian
peace agreement would be struck before his term ends while holding
out little hope for a major breakthrough during this trip.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Tuesday that reaching such
a deal within the next eight months "might be improbable but it's
not impossible."
Peres backed Bush's optimism for a Mideast peace accord, saying
Israelis want to work with Palestinians.
"We are not
their enemies," he said.
"We would like to see the Palestinians living together," he
said. "They have suffered a great deal of their life. The
separation is a tragedy for them and for the rest of us."
Just hours before Bush arrived, however, an Israeli official
said the Housing and Construction minister was planning to approve
the construction of hundreds of homes in West Bank settlements. In
the talks, the Palestinians demand that Israel stop building in
areas they want for a future state.
Peres chastised Hezbollah for aiming to destroy Lebanon and
accused Hamas of working to prevent the creation of a Palestinian
state. The U.S. has labeled both as terrorist groups.
Bush and Peres spoke after briefly strolling through the gardens
behind the Israeli president's residence. They sat with their aides
under an ivy-covered sandstone trellis amid a grove of trees and
flowers.
Stepping somewhat on the message of the anniversary festivities,
Bush joked that Israel really isn't so long in the tooth.
"As a person who's 61 years old, it doesn't seem that old," he
said.
Bush then talked of the trials Israel has faced and how it must
have been difficult to emerge as a prosperous, hopeful land.
He also got laughs when he told Peres: "You're looking good. I
hope you're feeling good."
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
