Bush begins eight-day tour of the Middle East
But he said both sides “are very seriously trying to move forward” on a deal.
“Israel does not tolerate and will not tolerate the continuation of these vicious attacks,” said Mr Olmert, after two and a half hours of talks with President Bush. “We will not hesitate to take all the necessary measures. There will be no peace unless terror is stopped. And terror will have to be stopped everywhere.”
On the first day of his eight-day Middle East trip aimed at pushing the Israelis and Palestinians toward an agreement, Mr Bush said there is a “historic moment, a historic opportunity”.
But he also said: “I’m under no illusions. This is going to be hard work.
“America cannot dictate the terms of what a state will look like.”
But “we’ll help”, he said.
Earlier yesterday, an Israeli airstrike in northern Gaza killed two Palestinians and wounded four others, a move the Israeli army said was taken in response to Palestinian militants who fired rockets into southern Israel.
Mr Bush said he and Mr Olmert also discussed Iran’s nuclear weapons ambitions and an incident last Sunday when Iranian boats provoked three American Navy ships in the strategic Strait of Hormuz. US officials said Iran threatened to explode the vessels, but the incident ended peacefully. Mr Bush said Iran continues to be a “threat to world peace”.
Mr Bush found himself challenged by his Israeli allies on a recent US intelligence report saying Iran halted a nuclear weapons program in 2003. Tehran’s nuclear ambitions are a chief fear in Israel, and the US report led some in the region — both Israelis and Arab nations concerned about rising Iranian influence — to doubt the US commitment to reining Tehran in. “The fact they suspended the program was heartening,” said Mr Bush. “The fact they had one was discouraging because they could restart it.”
Mr Bush’s arrival in Israel came amid ongoing land squabbles and fears of violence. There’s been little headway since he hosted a splashy Middle East conference in November in Annapolis in the US, which launched the first serious peace talks in seven years.
But Mr Olmert, despite his tough words on terror attacks, spoke optimistically as well. “Your visit is timely and is very important to encourage the process you and Secretary Rice helped start in Annapolis a few weeks ago and we, both sides I believe, are very seriously trying to move forward with now in order to realise the vision of a two-state solution,” said the Israeli leader.
Mr Bush said he believes both Mr Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas are “determined to make the hard choices necessary.
“Am I nudging them forward? Well, my trip was a pretty significant nudge because yesterday they had a meeting,” he said. And he said he would step in if and when his involvement is needed. “You know me well enough to know I’ll be more than willing to provide it,” said Mr Bush.
Mr Bush also stepped into a tricky issue — Palestinian anger about Israeli plans to build housing in east Jerusalem and the West Bank. Those areas were captured by Israel in the 1967 war and are claimed by the Palestinians for their future state. Of these Jewish settlements, Mr Bush said: “They’re illegal and they’ve got to go.” Earlier, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Israeli construction in Palestinian-claimed east Jerusalem constitutes settlement activity and is opposed by the US. Ms Rice’s comments marked the US administration’s strongest criticism yet of Israeli policies in east Jerusalem.
The Palestinians are expected to put settlements at the top of their agenda when they meet Mr Bush today.
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