VIDEO - US President George W. Bush opened his first presidential trip to Israel on Wednesday, seeking to build momentum for stalled Mideast peace talks and clear up confusion about whether the United States is serious about confronting Iran about its suspected nuclear ambitions.
"We see a new opportunity for peace here in the Holy Land and for freedom across the region," Bush said at a welcoming ceremony at Ben-Gurion International Airport just before noon.
"We seek lasting peace. We see a new opportunity for peace here in the holy land and for freedom across the region," he added. "We will discuss our deep desire for security and freedom and for peace throughout the Middle East."
After Air Force One touched down, President Shimon Peres andPrime Minister Ehud Olmert greetedhim. A red carpet was rolled up to the steps of Bush's plane, and military band and honor guard stood on the tarmac.
The entire Israeli Cabinet lined up to shake hands with the president. "Mr. President," Bush said in a greeting to Peres. "About time I got back here," said Bush, who visited Israel in 1998 before his election to the White House. "Nice to be here," Bush told a dignitary as he shook hands along the red carpet.
In remarks on the tarmac, Peres said Iran should not underestimate Israel's resolve for self defense. Peres also called on Bush to help "stop the madness" of Iran, Hizbullah and Hamas. He and Olmert both stressed solid US-Israel relations.
"We greet you as a great friend. You towered at moments of need; you paved the road to peace," Peres said. "We embrace you as the leader of a great nation, which – once having secured its freedom – never tired of providing it to others."
PM Olmert said, "Your policies have reflected a basic understanding of the challenges facing Israel in this troubled region and a solid commitment to our national security.
"You're our strongest and most trusted ally," he said, adding that the bond between Israel and the US was "unshakeable".
'Unshakeable bond.' Peres (L), Bush and Olmert at Ben-Gurion (Photo: AP)
Bush's challenge is to convince skeptical governments that, with just a year remaining in his presidency and Americans deep in the process of selecting his successor, he is willing to devote the time and effort necessary to bridge decades of differences in this troubled region.
Expectations of success are low, and no one is predicting big breakthroughs as Bush visits Israel, the Palestinian-governed West Bank, Kuwait, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
Israel was putting the final touches on the preparations for the Bush visit, deploying about 10,000 police in Jerusalem, employing garbage collectors overtime in the holy city and rolling out red carpets at the airport. The main highway between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem was closed for several hours, even though Bush traveled by helicopter to Jerusalem.
'We do expect both sides to act with urgency'
There's been little headway since Bush hosted a splashy Mideast conference in November in Annapolis, Maryland, and launched the first major peace talks in seven years.
On the eve of Bush's arrival, Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas pledged to have negotiators begin work immediately on the so-called final status issues. These include the final borders between Israel and a future Palestine, completing claims to the holy city of Jerusalem, the fate of millions of Palestinian refugees and Israeli security concerns.
In a boost for Israel, Bush said "the alliance between our two nations helps guarantee Israel's security as a Jewish state." The Palestinians object to recognition of Israel as a Jewish state, saying it rejects the rights of refugees to return to lost properties in what is now Israel.
Speaking to reporters on Air Force One, National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley referred to the setbacks since Annapolis as "distractions." Hadley said Bush would tell Abbas and Olmert that they must be personally committed to resuming negotiations, and would push to keep them on track.
Photo: AP
The Palestinians are angry about Israeli plans to build new housing in east Jerusalem and the West Bank - areas captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war and claimed by the Palestinians for their future state.
Israel, for its part, has demanded that Palestinian forces do more to rein in militants in the West Bank. Since Olmert and Abbas last met, two Israelis were killed in the West Bank, and Israeli security forces say members of Abbas' Fatah movement were responsible.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who accompanied Bush, called Tuesday for the Israelis and the Palestinians to move quickly.
"We do expect both sides to act with urgency. We do expect the negotiations to move forward. We do expect both sides to live up to their obligations," She said in an interview with Israel's Channel 10 TV.
"The Palestinians need to do everything they can to fight terror. Israel, frankly, needs to look at its road map obligations and to do nothing that would prejudge the final status agreement."
The US-backed "Road map" peace plan requires Israel to freeze settlement construction and the Palestinians to crack down on militants.
Bush's aim is to nurture an agreement over the next 12 months between Israeli and Palestinian leaders. "They need to have a vision that's clearly defined, that competes with the terrorists and the killers who murder the innocent people to stop the advance of democracy," Bush said at the White House on Tuesday before beginning his trip.
Bush, in pre-trip interviews, acknowledged he will have to explain a new US Intelligence report that concluded - contrary to earlier White House assertions - that Iran stopped its nuclear weapons program in 2003. That finding undercut US Efforts to build support for sanctions against Iran and raised questions about whether the White House was losing its interest in confronting Iran.
Bush says the report proved that Iran was a threat and is a threat. He says Iran is still enriching uranium and could restart its weapons program.
Bush said a confrontation in which Iranian boats threatened to blow up US Navy vessels in the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday was a "provocative act."
"It is a dangerous situation," he said. "They should not have done it, pure and simple. ... I don't know what their thinking was, but I'm telling you what my thinking was. I think it was a provocative act."
First published: 12:03, 01.09.8